Second Existence: Dual Objectives
by Kizoku Seishin
Summary: Many shinobi die in the attempt to rescue Naruto from the Akatsuki as two shinigami test a dimensional gate. These two events change the fates of many. Discontinued due to author dissatisfation.
1. Predestined Dissolution

_Age and Rating Disclaimer Statement_:

The following story received a rating of M (Mature) because of the presence of various objectionable situations. The scenes include infrequent usage of strong language, graphic violence (including depictions of death by injury), and sexual behavior (including depictions of nudity and sexual intercourse). As such, this narrative is not appropriate for children beneath the age of sixteen, or individuals that find the composition of the aforementioned situations distasteful or offensive.

With the inclusion of this warning, I will not make any warning notes in the story revealing when such situations will occur. However, to acquiesce with the rules and regulations of this site, none of the aforementioned questionable scenes is gratuitous, vulgar, obscene or explicit enough that the story justifies the prohibited MA (Mature Adults) rating.

x X x

_Legal Ownership Disclaimer Statement_:

Masashi Kishimoto is the creator and main proprietor of _Naruto_ and the characters within that fiction. Tite Kubo is the creator and main proprietor of _Bleach_andthe characters within that fiction. By submitting _Second Existence_ to this site, the author certifies he will not seek monetary compensation or conceive an exact reproduction of the aforementioned published works while using the source material. Breaking this agreement will result in the author facing possible civil and/or criminal litigation within the United States or Japan. However, any original characters and concepts presented within _Second Existence_ are the sole property of the author.

x X x

_Chapter 1: Predestined Dissolution _

Naruto Uzumaki understood the consequences of his actions.

The Akatsuki sought him for five years before the fighting ended three months ago. A few weeks ago, Sasuke Uchiha appeared in the Akatsuki cloak with several individuals. After he claimed he was the leader of the criminal organization, the former friends battled on the outskirts of Konoha.

As Sasuke lay on the ground wounded in defeat, he delivered an ultimatum before he vanished. Either he accompanied them to their layer to extract the Kyuubi, or the remaining members of Akatsuki destroy Konoha by releasing the other eight tailed beasts on the village. Naruto refused, believing it was a ruse.

Three days ago, Sasuke delivered on his threat as Akatsuki releasing Shukaku and Nekomata onto Konoha. Seeking to protect Sakura, his closest friends, and Konoha, he agreed to the demand in exchange for leaving the village alone forever. This ended the battle that caused the death and injuries of hundreds of shinobi within two hours.

However, it will come at the price of his life.

He groaned slightly as he balled his fist. Forgetting his dreams of becoming Hokage, or being greater than his father, he closed his eyes and concentrated on pleasant thoughts to ease the agony. After recalling some of the positive experiences he had with friends and mentors over the years, his thoughts shifted to the evening before Sasuke attacked ...

x X x

_"Naruto?" A female voice said through the door of the apartment. "Are you there?" _

_"Give me a minute!" Naruto yelled as he scurried around his residence, discarding the scattered trash. Once he felt satisfied that his apartment was clean enough, he opened the door. _

_"Is everything okay?" the woman asked with a slight pout. _

_"Sure Sakura," he responded with a sheepish smile. "What brings you over here?" _

_"Actually," Sakura said as her pout eased into a neutral face, "I wanted to know if you want to go out for a walk." _

_"It's late," he said with a confused expression while rubbing the back of his neck. "Don't we have a mission tomorrow?" _

_"I know," she responded. "But that never stopped anyone before." Naruto nodded as he grabbed his jacket. _

_"Where should we go?" he asked as they both left his apartment. _

_"The training grounds," she said as he locked his door. He nodded as they left the building. _

_They traveled across the moonlit village by jumping on the various rooftops, then used the trees along the lit paths. Eventually, they reached the area where their shinobi careers started—training ground number seven. _

_"This brings back memories," Naruto said with his hands in his pocket. He glanced at the three tree stumps before returning his gaze to the pink-haired woman. "It's been five years since we became shinobi." _

_"I know," she said with sedated tone. "Sometimes it feels like it's longer." _

_"So what's up?" he said in an even tone. "Something is bothering you?" _

_"It's about the promise," She lowered her head. "I want you to—" _

_"Don't worry. I intend to keep it," he interrupted with edginess in his tone. Her face turned into a frown as he added, "I always keep my word Sakura. You know I can't—" _

_"Damn it!" she wailed as she stomped on the ground. "He's the leader of the Akatsuki! He's out to kill you and destroy Konoha." He lowered his head as she continued, "The bastard is not worth it anymore." _

_"He's still one of us," Naruto responded through his teeth. "He's a piece of shit, but I'll bring him back and let him face the council—" _

_"No!" Sakura yelled as she shook his shoulders as he leaned on one of the practice stumps. Naruto glared as she counted on her fingers as she spoke, "He left the village to seek power. He joined the organization that killed Jiraiya. He wants to attack Konoha. He nearly killed Shino, Neji, and Lee the third time we tried to bring him back." She paused as she stared at him directly in the eye. She blinked while she added, "He tried to kill you three times. Just three weeks ago, he tried to capture you." _

_"But Sakura," Naruto said as he lowered his head. He slumped to the ground as he added, "I only did this because you—" _

_"I know," she said as she moved closer to him. "I don't love him anymore. Not after what he's done." Naruto raised his eyebrows while she choked, "I don't want to lose you because of that." _

_"Don't worry," he said with a reassuring smile. He cleared a tear from her cheek as he added, "The next time we fight the bastard, no one will hold back." _

_"Thank you Naruto," she said as she eased herself next to him. Her voice softened and her eyes lowered as she added, "For everything." _

_"No need to—" Naruto said. However, he never finished his sentence as Sakura placed her index finger on his lips. A weak smile appeared on her face as she slid her finger underneath his lips and tilted his chin slowly toward her face. _

_His lips quivered as her face inched closer. With her green eyes half-open, she moved her finger from his chin to the back of his neck, where she caressed it with her warm touch. Their eyes closed as their lips touched in a warm embrace. _

_His hands moved to her waist as their lips refused to depart. She eased off the ground slightly to straddle his legs. She moved her hands to his chest while his hands guided her body. _

_Their lips departed as their eyes opened slightly. As their breathing increased, they gazed each other. Their eyes revealed their thoughts on their minds. _

_Neither wanted the moment to end. _

_Their lips touched again as Naruto ran his fingers through Sakura's hair, while she unzipped his jacket. As their tongues found each other, he wrestled with the jacket, flinging it aside before his hands found their way to her neck, stroking it softly as she moaned softly to his touch. _

_She gently guided his hands away from her neck. His eyes widened as she grabbed one of his fingers and guided it around her breast. She let go as he continued the motion on his own will. _

_Her legs tightened around him as he continued to tease her breasts as her nipples raised through her shirt. She lifted her arms up as he guided her shirt above her head, revealing her bare upper body to him. Throwing the shirt aside, his kisses gravitated from her lips, then down to her neck. _

_As the kisses gravitated to the swell of her breasts, she gripped his shirt and ripped it open as a soft moan escaped her lips while his tongue tasted and teased her nipples. Tilting his head up, she kissed him on the lips again, throwing the torn shirt away. Her kisses drifted to his neck as his hands drifted toward her chest, caressing her bosom once more. _

_Her kisses drifted lower to his chest as he ran his fingers around her nipples. A soft moan escaped his mouth as his hands drifted toward her back. As his hands drifted lower, she arched her back with a gasp. _

_Their breathing intensified as she guided his hands lower. He closed his eyes as his hands went past her stomach, and inside her shorts. She guided his hand deeper, past lacy panties until she felt his fingers around her. She released a loud moan as his finger slipped inside of her. _

_She drifted her hand down softly his midsection until she felt him. He released a soft moan as her hands drifted to his lower thighs. Her hand drifted up his body as she bit her lip, feeling herself pulse around his finger. _

_He pulled his finger out as her body inched closer to him until she was over him. She closed her eyes as she grinded their hips together, feeling his bulge through their clothes. His eyes closed and his head leaned backward. Their breathing grew ragged as his hands held her hips as she continued. _

_Their eyes opened, glancing toward each other with anticipation. She unbuttoned his pants, lowering them to his knees. She followed suit with her boxers. Glancing down, she grazed him lightly with her hand. After hearing his soft moan, she continued to stroke him. _

_She eased off him slightly as his hands guided her shorts below her waist. He kicked away his shoes, pants and boxers as he pulled down her lace panties. Stepping out of them, she nudged them away with her feet. _

_Lowering her body again, she straddled his body between her legs as began to grind him once more. She caressed his chest as he bit his lower lip. He closed his eyes as he enjoyed the unfamiliar and pleasurable sensation. _

_"Sakura," he whispered as his hands massaged her back. She reared back and let her head drift upward as she released another moan. As he opened his eyes, her naked body glowed in the fire-lit area as she reached down to touch him. _

_"I want to feel you," she murmured as her breathing grew ragged. Naruto closed his eyes as she raised her body, guiding him inside of her. As she eased herself onto him, she winced and released a soft cry as a slight pain spread inside her. _

_When the pain subsided, she grinded their bodies together once more. Naruto gripped the grass near him as the passion overflowed his senses. As she lowered herself slightly, he raised his hips, doing so repeatedly until they moved together in a harmonious rhythm. _

_They increased the pace as they adjusted to each other. They slid their bodies closer to the stump as he supported his back on it. As she continued to move on him, he teased her bosom once more with his tongue. Unable to contain the sensation, she sat upright as she moaned and closed her eyes. She leaned her head back as she drenched in the ecstasy inside of her. _

_She gripped his lower back to contain the euphoria inside her, moving on him harder. He felt himself tighten as he watched her body react with pleasure. With a loud groan, he released inside of her, no longer able to hold back the pulsing sensation. Feeling his eruption, she lowered herself on him as he remained completely inside of her. She tightened herself around him, increasing the exhilaration they experienced. _

_When the elation ceased, his back collapsed onto the stump as she fell into his chest. They smiled at each other and shared another kiss. _

_"Naruto," Sakura whispered as she gazed at his body. _

_"Yeah?" he responded as he glanced around the area, noticing their clothes scattered around them. _

_"We should probably head back," she said with a soft tone as she reached for her panties. _

_"Right," he said with a smile as she stood up, allowing him to exit her. As he reached for his boxers, he added as she continued to dress, "Do you want to stay at my place?" _

_"Not tonight," she said with a smile as she glanced at his body. She wrapped her arms around him as she whispered seductively in his ear, "We won't get any sleep." _

x X x

A smile appeared on his face as the light faded away from his vision. The surroundings around him darkened, the sound of metal clashing echoed in the distance.

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled, "Hold on! We're here..."

However, it was too late. Her voice was nothing more than an inaudible whisper.

He could no longer feel the pain of the extraction process.

The stench of the layer weakened underneath his nose.

His breathing grew shallow, until it halted.

The light disappeared from his eyes.

The pulse of his heart stopped.

He smiled, believing his friends were safe.

x X x

Sakura rushed towards his falling body as she recalled the events that transpired between them a week ago. When she caught his body, tears flowed from her eyes.

When she learned what Naruto did to protect the village and his friends, she left the Hokage tower in silence, biting her tongue to avoid revealing any overt emotions. She recalled wandered around the village, unable to speak any words until she ran into a familiar face...

x X x

_"Sakura! Wait a second!" a man yelled as he ran toward her. The kunoichi spun her head toward the man calling her as he added with a wheeze, "We've been looking for you for three hours." _

_"Sorry about that Shikamaru," she told the man in a soft tone as he slumped his posture. "Need me for something?" _

_"Gathering a team," he replied in a serious voice as she nodded as her eyes grew wide. "We're planning to rescue Naruto. Do you want—" _

_"I'm in," she interrupted as her eyes narrowed. As the lazy chuunin stared at her, she added, "The process of extraction will kill him. We have to save him." _

_"Are you sure?" he said with a serious tone. "There's no turning back from this." _

_"Shikamaru," she said as she placed her hand on her hip. "I said I'm in." _

_"That makes you the sixth person," he said in a serious tone. _

_"Six people," she asked with a higher tone as she widened her eyes. "Who's coming?" _

_"Hinata and Kiba volunteered immediately after we spoke to Tsunade-sama," Shikamaru said with a calm tone as Sakura's eyes narrowed. "They want to avenge Shino and Akamaru." Her eyes softened. He smiled when he added, "Besides, we know how Hinata feels about him. She'll follow him to lowest level of hell if it meant saving him." _

_"I noticed," Sakura said with a curt nod as her eyes narrowed once more. Shikamaru raised his eyebrow as she said, "Continue." _

_"I spoke to Ino. She and I want revenge for Chouji," he said with a serious tone. "She also wanted to return the favor to Naruto and save him." She nodded in agreement as he continued, "Initially, Lee volunteered to help, but—" _

_"He's injured," Sakura said as she finished the sentence. "I put the casts on his legs. Neji is in no condition to fight either. He almost lost his arm." _

_"Exactly." Shikamaru said with a serious tone. "Tenten opted to go in Lee's place." _

_"The weapon mistress?" she asked. After he gave a nod, she added, "I guess she wants to avenge her teammates and Gai-sensei." He nodded again in agreement. _

_"Too bad Tsunade-sama won't approve this mission," he said with a sigh. "That's why we're on our own." _

_"Why can't she?" Sakura demanded as she folded her arms. "Let me speak to her. I can convince her to—" _

_"Her hands are tied with the council," he responded. "Otherwise, she'd go herself." _

_"We can't fail," she said as a tear fell down her face. "If they take the Kyuubi away from him, Naruto will..." _

_"It won't happen," he said with a serious expression as her voice trailed off. _

_"How are we doing this?" she asked. _

_"We're meeting at the Yamanaka flower shop tomorrow morning. No one will suspect anything there." Shikamaru replied. "Make sure you have everything. After I explain the plan, we leave the village." _

_"Right," she said with a serious tone. "We're going to end this once and for all." _

x X x

The next day, she met with the others at the flower shop. They traveled to the outskirts of Ame, where rumors revealed that was the location of the Akatsuki base. Traveling for two days, the Konoha team fought and killed three Akatsuki members, hoping to give Naruto more time.

Fortunately, on the third day, with the combination of Hinata using her Byakugan and Kiba using his sense of smell, they located the base successfully.

They arrived, clashing with various Akatsuki grunts. They eventually reached the statue, where Naruto and the main members of the group awaited. Among the main members, was Sasuke Uchiha.

Tenten threw several kunai to disrupt the extraction process. Some of the Akatsuki members evaded the weapons, while some continued their focus on the extraction process.

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled as she approached the statue, catching the falling shinobi. "Hold on! We're here to get you out."

However, she noticed Naruto close his eyes. His body became motionless when she appeared next to him.

"Naruto?" she yelled as she shook his body. Her hands illuminated in a soft green light as she used healing chakra. As tears flowed from her face, more chakra flowed to her hands, increasing the radiance of the light.

"It's no use," Sasuke said with a sneer as he approached his former teammates. "We already have the Kyuubi."

"Why?" Sakura screamed as more tears flowed down her face. "Why did you do this?"

"Simple," Sasuke replied as Sakura's healing chakra stopped. "Konoha destroyed my family, so I plan to destroy them."

"Bastard!" Sakura yelled as she let normal chakra seep into her hands. "You killed so many that didn't have anything to do with it—"

"They were all casualties," Sasuke said as he began to draw chakra from the statue. "I can't let no one stand between my goals." He pointed at her and her unmoving teammate as he added, "Not you. Not him!"

In her rage, Sakura punched the ground with her chakra behind it, forcing an earthquake. As Sasuke continued to draw chakra from the statue, it began to rattle, until the statue toppled over the former Konoha shinobi, pinning his legs to the ground.

"Idiot!" She yelled to the now motionless Uchiha. As she approached him, the room began to shake violently.

"We need to get out of here!" Tenten yelled, as the remaining members of Akatsuki teleported out of the room. "This place is going to collapse!"

"Get Naruto first," Sakura said in a serious tone as Hinata and Kiba ran toward Naruto. As Kiba put him on his back, she added, "Tsunade may be able to save him."

"What about him?" Ino yelled as the room continued to shake. She pointed to Sasuke as she added, "Konoha wants his body dead or alive."

"Let the bastard rot," Kiba responded with a snarl. "He deserves to die here!"

"Enough talking!" Shikamaru said, "Let's get out of—"

"I can't die so easily," Sasuke said as he crawled from underneath the statue as everyone lost the ability to move. He revealed his Mangenkyo Sharingan as he raised his arm off the floor. "I'll destroy anyone standing in my way, including you morons."

"Shit," Kiba said under his breath as everyone struggled to move.

"Are you crazy?" Ino shouted to the former Konoha shinobi. "You'll kill everyone, including yourself!"

"I don't care if I have to crawl," Sasuke yelled in a deranged tone. He cackled like a lunatic before as he added, "I'll avenge my family once and for all!"

"We have to stop him!" Tenten screamed to the others as she began to draw chakra to break the genjutsu. "He lost his mind!" The others began to draw their chakra as well, but were unable to break the genjutsu.

"You'll be the first victims of my new power," Sasuke bellowed from the ground as he attempted to draw chakra from the statue. "Come forth, Kyuubi! Destroy them!"

To everyone's surprise, nothing happened.

"I said come forth you wretched fox!" Sasuke yelled as he collapsed on the ground. "You're under my control you stupid beast!"

"Is that so pathetic mortal?" A demonic voice echoed across the room. "You can't control me or my brethren."

"Why not?" Sasuke yelled as he slammed his palm on the floor, "I must get my revenge!"

"Forget it mortal," a female demonic voice said. "You're dying!" She laughed as she added, "You commanded me and Shukaku to attack that village, because you're too weak. Go handle your own ambitions."

"I command you!" Sasuke shrieked. "I don't care if I die here! Kill them! Annihilate Konoha!"

"You fucking idiot," Kiba shouted. "You're going to die too!"

"So be it," Sasuke hissed as he attempted to draw more chakra from the statue.

However, everyone's eyes widened in surprise as the statue glowed in an ominous light. Nine lights emerged from the statue as it fractured. The fracture in the statue caused chakra to explode forward, killing anyone in the direct vicinity, and causing the hideout collapse on itself.

"We warned him," one of the lights uttered. "Not even that human simpleton I was stuck with would try to control me when he couldn't."

"It doesn't matter," another one of the lights uttered. "We're finally free from those wretched humans!"

x X x

"What does this machine do?" a dark-skinned woman exclaimed as she looked at the unusual set up in the room.

"To explain everything right would be complicated Captain Yoruichi," a blond-haired man responded as he opened a paper fan.

"Then give the short version," the woman responded, folding her arms across her chest as he fanned himself. She smiled as she added, "And drop the formalities Kisuke."

"While researching ways to travel into Hueco Mundo," Kisuke said as he stroked his jaw, "I stumbled upon an odd discovery. Instead of ending up there, I arrived in a different dimension."

"Really?" Yoruichi said with a raised eyebrow. "Can you describe it?"

"I didn't stay around long enough," Kisuke said as he closed the paper fan. "Probably a good thing I didn't. That world uses the souls of the deceased as energy."

"You're joking!" she said as she folded her arms. She gave him a shortsighted glance as she continued, "How can anyone harness the power of a soul?"

"The souls return to the earth into a form of energy," he said while he crinkled his eyes. "Of course, the souls die in the process. From what I hear, the planet can't survive without souls."

"They continue to do that?" she asked. "Despite knowing that information?"

"Apparently the corporation doing this understands the situation and ignores it," Kisuke said in a drab tone. His voice changed into a lighter tone as he added, "However, there are people fighting against that company."

"So you want to travel back into that world to help them?" Yoruichi asked. Her eyes narrowed as she continued, "Or do you want to research that technology."

"The people fighting are strong enough, and that knowledge would be the end of Soul Society," Kisuke responded as he started the machine. "I'm more interested in what other worlds exist, so I changed the calibrations of the coordinates."

"You believe shinigami like us exists in other worlds?" she asked with a smirk.

"I'm certain of it," he said with a frown. "In the past, shinigami had access to other worlds before the royal family sealed off those gates to prevent hollows from invading. Now, we only handle hollows on Earth."

"That's only a childhood tale," Yoruichi said with a frown. "No one can prove it."

"I would say the same thing, if I didn't wind up in that weird world." Kisuke said with a shrug as he powered up the machine. "There's also truth to any tales passed down from generations." As she nodded in affirmation, he continued, "I want to gather information on another world before presenting the information to Captain Yamamoto. "

"I'm going too," she stated as she grabbed the hilt of her zanpakutou. "You may need help in case something goes wrong, or if hollows exist there."

"Concerned for my safety captain?" he asked in a high tone. When the portal opened, he added as she smiled, "Be prepared for anything. We don't know what's on the other side of the gate."

"Should we leave a message telling someone what we're doing?" she asked. "I don't want the Gotei Thirteen thinking we're fugitives."

"Don't worry about it," he responded. "What's the worst that could happen?"

Yoruichi shrugged as the two shinigami stepped into the portal, uncertain of what is on the other side.

x X x

Naruto awakened as he lay on the ground. Glancing up, he saw the faces of two fellow Konoha shinobi.

"Sakura? Shikamaru? What's going on?" Naruto asked with a quizzical expression. He eased off the ground as he noticed Hinata, Kiba, Ino, and Tenten. "Why are you guys here?"

"We came to get you out of there," Ino added with a serious tone. All the shinobi pointed to the Akatsuki site, where smoke billowed in the distance.

"However, things didn't go according to plan," Sakura said with a somber expression as Naruto twisted his face to look at the ruined criminal hideout.

"I don't get it," Naruto said as he rubbed the back of his head. Shikamaru rubbed his temples as Naruto leaped off the ground. He added, "If we were in there, how are we out here? The hideout must be at least five miles away from here."

"Idiot, we're all dead." Kiba growled as Naruto turned. "The explosion and the collapse crushed our bodies."

"All that's left is these chains," Tenten added. She sighed as she whispered under her breath, "Why are they there in the first place?"

"I get it," Naruto yelled toward the group. "It's only a joke!" Kiba and Ino joined Shikamaru in rubbing their temples while Tenten, Hinata, and Sakura looked away in a sheepish manner. "Everything's okay. Let's return home and get some food to celebrate!"

"It's not an illusion," Shikamaru said in an exasperated tone as he touched the shoulder of his comrade. To illustrate the point further, he dragged himself and Naruto to a nearby road, where traffic was high. The remaining shinobi followed him.

However, no one noticed them. Furthermore, the people passed through him, not even realizing he was there.

"When we arrived in the hideout," Sakura said with a sad tone, while Naruto looked at the people with a puzzled look, desperately trying to get their attention. "Sasuke finished extracting the Kyuubi from your body."

Naruto turned his attention to Sakura, remembering that she ran to him before he lost his control over his senses.

"Sasuke attempted to use the statue after he took the Kyuubi to attack us," Hinata said with a soft tone. She played with her fingers as she added, "It backfired and destroyed the entire hideout."

"With us in it," Sakura added, as Naruto lowered his head in disgust.

"There is a bright side to this," Tenten added, as everyone turned their heads and stared at the kunoichi. She winced as she continued, "Konoha is safe. There's no way Sasuke could have survived either."

"Good," Kiba said with a spiteful voice as everyone nodded in agreement. "He lost his mind! Better that the bastard died with us!"

"It's the other way around Kiba," Shikamaru said, with earned a tense growl from the Inuzuka shinobi. "He used a genjutsu that kept us from escaping. Otherwise, we would've made it out of there before the idiot did anything."

"So what do we do now?" Naruto asked everyone. "What happens from here? How do we get rid of these chains?"

"I don't know," Ino said as everyone glanced around the area as Sakura and Hinata stepped toward Naruto. As the two touched his shoulders, the blonde kunoichi added, "I never died before."

Everyone nodded, agreeing with her sentiments.

x X x

_Author Notes_:

This is my first attempt at a crossover story. It is also my first attempt at writing for a mature audience on this site. However, I don't want anyone going easy on critique in his or her reviews due to my inexperience.

With that in mind, there are many Naruto and Bleach crossovers, but few receive consideration as quality stories. The same situation exists with most stories involving a harem situation. My hope is that this story, while mature in content, will add to the list of quality crossovers and harem stories.

Speaking of the harem, you already know he shares a romantic link with Sakura from this chapter, and that Hinata shows feelings for him in canon. That will not change—no matter how much anti-Hinata or anti-Sakura people whine about it.

He will also share romantic links with two women from the Bleach realm. I will leave the names of those women to your imagination. (Here's a clue: Think of two females in Bleach who could benefit the most with Naruto constantly around them. That should narrow down the list of options.)

By the conclusion of _Second Existence_, Naruto will have a relationship with either one woman, or all four. (Admittedly, I haven't fully decided on the ending. As I continue writing the story, I'll make up my mind. This is probably the only area where reviews could influence my thoughts.)

As for other possible pairings, I'm not revealing those yet either. When the time comes, you will know. Many Bleach and Naruto fans will probably enjoy the combinations. You can add your guesses in a review or PM. Perhaps I'll confirm if your answer is correct.

Yes, Sasuke is psychotic in this story. Admittedly, what happens to him next is probably too predictable, especially if you are an avid fan of Bleach. (I'll find a way to make it interesting.)

On a side note, I corrected the errors that _Piper Chris Melinda Halliwell_ pointed out in a review. Thank you again!

Since you got this far, review and let _me _know what _you _think about the chapter. If everyone deems it good enough, I'll proceed with _Chapter 2: Unusual Spirits_. If not, I'll rewrite this chapter until I get it right.


	2. Unusual Spirits

Author's Note:

I won't waste time with another disclaimer for this chapter, as it's redundant after the first chapter. Unlike my other main story (_The Legend Within: Rise of a Champion_) I'll address all questions and future notes at the end of the chapter.

Without further ado, here is the next chapter.

x X x

_Chapter 2: Unusual Spirits _

"So where do we go?" Kiba asked as he looked at the sky. "There isn't much to do as a spirit."

"How about Konoha?" Sakura asked as she rubbed her forearm. "We can find out something there."

"We can also check the hideout," Kiba said with a frown. He glanced toward the direction of the collapsed area as he added, "There may be some information there."

"Who cares about that?" Ino said as she clenched her jaw. "Let's go back to Konoha!"

"I don't know Ino," Hinata said. After a sigh, she added, "I saw some of the Akatsuki leave."

"I agree with Hinata and Kiba," Tenten said as Ino glared at the Hyuuga. "Sasuke may be dead, but the others may still be a threat. We have to find out so Konoha can—"

"How?" Ino said as she placed her hand on her hip. "No one can see or hear us!"

"Oh," Tenten said as she grabbed the back of her head. "I forgot about that."

"In that case, we should go back to Konoha," Shikamaru said as he closed his eyes. "While we're there, we can find out a few things since no one can see us."

"That's right!" Naruto said as he pumped his fist in the air. "Since no one can see us, we can get away with so many pranks." Sakura and Shikamaru, frowned as Naruto added with a giggle, "Maybe I can sneak into the women's bath house."

"I'm with you on that one!" Kiba added with enthusiasm as he grinned with Naruto, rubbing his hair for thinking of the creative idea. "Let's go to Konoha now!"

"Peeking at the bath house?" Tenten said through her teeth as she reached behind her for a weapon, only to remember she didn't have any. She gave the two potential peepers an icy stare. "Perverts!"

Kiba and Naruto glanced at the other women. Hinata attempted to conceal a heavy blush, while Sakura and Ino balled their hands into fists, with the pink-haired woman shaking hers toward Naruto.

"Before anyone beats up the perverts," Shikamaru said as he noticed the stares emanating from the three women. Ino relaxed her hands as he added, "We should start going back. It takes two days to travel there." The women nodded in agreement, as Kiba and Naruto walked ahead.

x X x

On the outskirts of Konoha, an open grass field existed inside the dense forest. Many Konoha shinobi used this area as a reference point while traveling around in patrols. However, experienced shinobi avoided this area, as it left them as a clear target for any potential enemy shinobi.

The wind in the area picked up as a purple portal opened near the center of the field. As the portal continued to widen, Kisuke and Yoruichi stepped out of the dimensional gate.

"This world looks like the forests in Soul Society or the living world," Yoruichi said as she glanced around the area.

"The other world I saw also had forests," Kisuke said. "This doesn't surprise me."

"Something feels odd though," she said as she kept her hand close to the hilt of her zanpakutou. "There's reiatsu nearby."

"Now that is a surprise," he added as he pulled out a device. After pushing a few buttons on it, he continued, "There's several readings in this area."

"How strong?" she asked.

"From what I gather in these readings, they're at least the level of seated shinigami." He blinked as he added, "That's unusual."

"What is?" she asked as she glanced at the sky, taking in the scenery.

"Besides that the scanner works outside of Soul Society and the living world?" he said as his eyebrows furrowed. "The scanner says the souls are pluses."

"Let's investigate," she said as she raised her eyebrows. "There seems to be no apparent danger—"

"Wait a second," he interrupted as he held out an open hand. Looking at the scanner, he added, "It picked up a hollow."

"Why am I not surprised?" Yoruichi said with a smirk as she flexed her fingers.

"How come?" Kisuke asked as he put away the device, pointing west.

"If we're able to get here," she responded. "It shouldn't be a surprise that hollows can reach here as well."

"Point taken," he said. "It's heading to an area where one of the pluses are. We should hurry." With a short nod, they began to use shunpo to travel to the area.

x X x

Meanwhile, the spirits made their way to the Hokage tower the following morning, managing to get through with surprising ease. They were also surprised that they arrived in less than a day.

That is, until Shikamaru reminded them of their status as ghosts that allowed them to travel through inanimate objects.

Looking around the office of the Hokage, they saw Tsunade napping on her desk with paperwork piled around her. None of the shinobi considered that a surprise, considering each of them caught her in this act at least once, with Sakura and Shikamaru catching her on numerous occasions.

"Tsunade-sama!" a woman yelled from behind the door. Without warning, said door flew open, with Shizune running in.

"I'm working on it!" Tsunade said, snapping out of her nap. Three papers stuck to her face as she lifted her head off the table, which received a laugh from Naruto and Kiba, and a soft groan from Sakura.

"I have some news," Shizune said as Tsunade snatched the papers away from her face, placing them in front of her desk. "It's about the unauthorized rescue team."

"I take it they back," Tsunade said with a smirk as she placed her elbows on her desk, with her fingertips touching near her chin. The souls in the room winced before they remembered she couldn't see them. "Bring them in. I want to hear their report before—"

"Tsunade-sama," Shizune said. Taking a step back, she added. "I'm sorry, but the report isn't good news."

"What happened," Tsunade asked as she dropped her hands.

"The Akatsuki base was destroyed," she said. Placing the scroll on the desk, she lowered her head as she continued, "A team of Konoha ninja searched the rubble, and found the bodies of the team. They also found Naruto's body."

"What?" Tsunade shrieked as she slammed her fist on the desk, which shattered in half. Everyone in the room widened their eyes while various papers scattered around the room. "Is this a joke Shizune?"

"I'm afraid not," she replied as tears flowed down the women's cheeks. "The bodies are with the medical exam team."

"I see," Tsunade said as she winced. "Are the funeral arrangements set?"

"No," Shizune said with a frown, "Their families have been contacted and are on their way."

"Great," Tsunade said. "Anything else I should know?"

"There is some positive news," Shizune replied with a hesitant tone. "None of the remaining Akatsuki members made it out alive. We managed to recover their bodies as well, including the body of Sasuke Uchiha." The spirits in the room let out a sigh of relief.

"I'll contact the other leaders to let them know the threat is over," Tsunade said.

"I understand," Shizune said as Tsunade nodded. She added, "What do we do with the body of the Akatsuki—"

"Let the examiners have fun with them," she said in a vicious tone. "Then burn the bodies. I don't want the remains anywhere near the village."

"Understood." Shizune said with a nod. "What do we do with Naruto?"

"Leave his ashes near his mom and dad," Tsunade said with a half-smile. Naruto raised his eyes as she continued, "Minato and Kushina would want that."

"Minato?" Naruto whispered to himself. "He's the —" He was interrupted by Shikamaru, placing his finger near his lips to keep him quiet.

"I believe that is best," Shizune said. "But what if the villagers—"

"They have to be blind not to see the resemblance," Tsunade interrupted. "The spiky blonde hair, the blue eyes, their smiles?" Everyone turned to Naruto, who eyes remained wide open at the news of his heritage.

"I'm going out for a walk," Tsunade said as she bit her lip. She eased off her chair as she added, "Need a drink."

"I understand," Shizune said as she bowed, not arguing that it was only seven in the morning. "I'll get a replacement desk and have a genin team rearrange the paperwork in the meantime." Shizune left the room, followed by Tsunade moments later.

The spirits turned to glance at Naruto, who still absorbed the news.

"My father is the fourth Hokage," Naruto whispered as he glanced at the portrait. "How come no one told me?"

"This is news to us too," Shikamaru said as Sakura held the hand of her teammate.

"I'll say," Kiba said with a smirk. "Naruto is Konoha nobility like Hinata." The Hyuuga blushed at the statement.

"Nevermind that," Ino said as she and Tenten looked at the portrait of the fourth Hokage, then at Naruto. "How did any of us miss the resemblance?"

"It was too troublesome to look into it," Shikamaru said with a sigh. "Let's go. There's more stuff to do." Everyone left the room, except for Naruto.

He took one last stare at the portrait before releasing a slight smile.

x X x

Sasuke awakened in the forest outside of Konoha. Noticing a chain on his chest, he scoffed as if it were something odd. However, as he tried to pull at it several times, he realized he couldn't get it off. He prepared to use a jutsu to break the chain, but heard the leaves rustle nearby.

He attempted to activate his Sharingan to find the source of the sound. To his chagrin, he could not activate it.

"Such reiatsu," someone said in a deep voice. A creature dropped from the trees, and landed on its feet. With its vines waving, it continued, "I'm going to enjoy devouring you and making you my subordinate!"

Sasuke merely raised his eyebrow as he noticed the odd mask and the hole in the chest of the creature. Without hesitation, he kicked the creature in the face, making it stumble back several feet.

"I see you can fight," the monster said as he regained his balance. Sasuke sneered at him as he continued, waving his vines in the air. "Looks like I can't play with my food this time."

"I'm nobody's meal," Sasuke said as readied himself in a fighting stance.

The monster stayed in place as four vines surged forward toward Sasuke. He successfully evaded three of them, but it turned out to be a feint.

The fourth vine wrapped around him successfully, snatching him in the air.

"That was too easy," the hollow said with a laugh as Sasuke struggled to free himself. "Did you think you could predict my moves?" Sasuke cringed upon hearing that comment as the hollow slammed the dead shinobi on the ground several times, until he was barely conscious.

"Now that you're taken care of," the hollow said with a cheerful tone, "it's dinner time!" The hollow brought Sasuke to his mouth.

With one gulp, he ate him.

"He tasted like chicken," the hollow said in a cheerful voice. "There's more reiatsu nearby ... they were right. I can find a ton of food here without any shinigami to bother me!"

x X x

"So where do we go from here?" Shikamaru asked the group.

"We could stay in the village for a while longer," Hinata responded as she played with her fingers. "Maybe we can see everyone one last time." While everyone agreed with the former heiress, Naruto began walking away.

"Naruto?" Sakura asked as she turned to her teammate. "Where are you going?"

"I need some time to think," he replied in a whisper as he kept walking.

"What's with him?" Ino asked. "He's not acting like—"

"Let him be," Shikamaru said in a serious tone as he folded one arm across his chest. "He just found out who his parents were."

"I should see my parents, although they can't see me," Sakura said, breaking a brief silent moment. "How about we meet near the southern gate in an hour?"

"Who's going to tell Naruto?" Hinata asked.

"I'll do it." Sakura said. Hinata glared at her as Sakura walked away. "I have an idea where he went."

"My home is this way," Kiba added as Sakura broke into a sprint. "I'll catch you guys—"

However, he stopped talking when he noticed the approach of two villagers.

"Did you hear the news?" said one of the villagers. "The Kyuubi is dead!" The five deceased shinobi raised their eyebrows as Hinata clenched her teeth. As her hand unconsciously formed into a fist, the villager continued. "This is the greatest news I heard since the Yondaime defeated the fox!"

"I know," the second villager said. A low growl emitted from Kiba as the villager continued, "I can't believe we kept that thing here. That punk should've been slaughtered a long time ago."

"I heard that Sasuke did it," the first villager said with a smile. Ino grinded her teeth as the villager added, "He'll be hailed as a hero."

"Maybe that's why he left the village," the second villager added as Shikamaru closed his eyes in disgust. Hinata noticed her right arm twitched in a violent manner as the villager added, "He needed all that training from somewhere else to do something that the fourth couldn't do."

"What was the fourth thinking, leaving that monster alive?"

"I don't—" however, both villagers clutched their stomachs in pain.

"What the hell was that?" the first villager said as he crouched to the ground. "It felt like someone struck my stomach."

"Maybe it's something we ate?" the second villager said as she raised herself off the ground.

If they could see spirits, they would've realized that Hinata and Kiba punched them hard in the gut.

"You didn't have to do that," Tenten said as she watched an ANBU dropped from the tree above.

"I know, but I wanted to," Kiba said with a feral smile as the ANBU shinobi arrested the two citizens for breaking the S-ranked law. He turned to his teammate and added, "Right Hinata?"

Hinata nodded, albeit blushing at her unusual actions as they watched the ANBU and the two citizens exchange heated words.

"The law isn't in effect anymore," the first citizen yelled. "That piece of shit you call a shinobi is dead!"

"Tell that to the Hokage," the rankled ANBU officer yelled. "I won't have anyone disrespecting the memory of a shinobi saved the village twice."

x X x

Naruto arrived at the memorial stone. Glancing at it, he saw the newly etched names on it, including his. He glanced upward, noticing the name of Minato Namikaze.

"I never knew you were my father," Naruto said to the stone. "I also know you were the one who sealed the Kyuubi within me." Shifting his gaze to the sky before returning it to the stone, he continued, "I understand you couldn't ask anyone else to use their child for the seal, and wanted the villagers to treat me as a hero."

He rubbed his nose as he glanced around. "Things didn't work out that way, but I know you meant the best for the village and for myself when you sacrificed yourself." With a sigh, he added, "For that, I'll forgive you."

A tear dropped from his eye as he felt a hand touch his shoulder from behind. He turned around, and saw a familiar face.

"Sakura?" he asked with a half-smile. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to come to the memorial," she said as he nodded. "I also knew to find you here. We're meeting at the southern gate in thirty minutes."

"Thank you," he said in a sincere manner.

"Remember when we first became genin, after the test?" Sakura asked as grabbed his arm. She smiled as she added, "The first time we were at this memorial?"

"Oh yeah," Naruto said as he scratched the back of his head with his free hand. "I said I'd have my name on it someday. I also didn't know it was a memorial for those killed in duty."

"Ironic, isn't it?" Sakura said as she glanced at everyone's name on the stone, including her own.

"Not too long ago, the Rookie Nine was talked about as a group of legendary shinobi," Naruto said with a sad tone. "Now we're all dead."

"I have no regrets," Sakura said as she embraced Naruto in a hug. "All of us went on that mission to save you."

"I know," Naruto said as he returned the hug. "Thank you Sakura."

As they released their embrace, they heard someone approach the memorial. To their surprise, it was Kakashi. They smiled at their sensei, but realized he couldn't see them or hear them.

"I haven't visited here for a few days," Kakashi said in a somber tone as he glanced at the memorial. "It seems I have two more reasons to visit every morning."

"This is why you're always late for everything sensei?" Naruto and Sakura muttered at the same time.

"Seems like I failed again Obito," Kakashi said to the stone. Naruto and Sakura listened as he continued, "My other two students died because I let the first one get away."

"That's not true sensei," Naruto said with a quiet tone, clasping his hands in front of him. "I made the choice to leave."

"In the process, I couldn't protect Sensei's son like he wanted." Kakashi sighed as he added. "Naruto, Sakura ... forgive me."

"There's no need for forgiveness," Sakura said. As she and Naruto walked away, she turned back to her former sensei and added, "Like you said sensei, those who abandon the mission is trash, but those who abandon their friends are worse than trash."

However, Kakashi couldn't hear those words. Instead, he left their hitai-ate at the stone.

x X x

"Everyone's here!" Sakura shouted as she and Naruto arrived at the gate. "How did everyone's visits go?"

"Found my dad is at the bar with Inoichi," Shikamaru said with a lazy tone as the group walked out the gate. "My mom isn't nagging at him to come home." He paused for a moment before he added, "Maybe she wants the time alone to grieve."

"My mom is at the flower shop, preparing for the funerals," Ino said with a vacant tone. "I'm usually helping her, but it's so different." She sighed as she added, "Like Shikamaru, I also saw my dad at the bar with Shikaku."

"Mom and Hana aren't doing great," Kiba said. "They're usually loud, but they're quiet."

"I went to visit Lee and Neji in the hospital," Tenten said when the focus shifted on her. "They didn't know we're dead yet. They spoke about how we'll succeed in stopping the Akatsuki, and that they were upset they couldn't go on the mission too." She looked down at the ground as she added, "I saw Shizune entering the room as I left, so they probably know now."

"My family was handling the funeral arrangements, and they spoke about—" Hinata said. However, she never finished her sentence when she stumbled forward. Fortunately, Naruto caught her before she fell onto the ground.

"Hinata?" Naruto asked as Hinata formed a slight blush on her face. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she said with a nod. "I tripped over something." She attempted to activate her Byakugan to find the offending object. However, to her chagrin, her optic kekkei genkai didn't activate.

"What's wrong Hinata?" Tenten asked, noticing the widened stare from Hinata.

However, their thoughts ceased when an odd plant creature appeared from out the bushes.

"More delicious reiatsu," the creature said. "This world is great! I'll never grow hungry here!"

"What the hell are you?" Sakura asked as she eased herself into a combat stance. "Why can you see us?"

"Why does that creature have a mask and a hole in its chest?" Ino whispered as she turned to Shikamaru. As he shrugged, the creature launched his vines toward Ino, and entangled her.

"Let her go," Naruto said as he clenched his fists. "I'll tear you apart, you overgrown weed."

"How are you going to do that," the plant creature said as he used another vine to push Naruto to the side. "Seems like you're flat on your ass." He then used six other vines to entwine all of the shinobi.

"Seems like you're just punks like that other brat," the plant hollow said as Sakura, Kiba, and Naruto tried to punch their way free, but to no avail. "I'd give you a chance to run, but I'm hungry again, and I have no time to mess around with chumps!" He opened his mouth wide and continued, "At least you'll make interesting hollows." It brought Ino closer as it said, "I think I'll start with this blonde."

However, instead of devouring her soul in one gulp as the creature planned, someone sliced the vine holding Ino. As he screamed in pain, he dropped the others onto the ground with a negligent thud.

"Who the hell did that?" The plant creature screamed. "My vines take years to grow!"

"Then you shouldn't have tried to eat that soul," a woman wearing black garb with a white haori yelled to the plant. The plant creature winced as she screamed to the spirits, "Get to safety! You can't fight this creature!"

"You can see us too?" Naruto yelled as he and the others ran to get Ino.

"I'll explain later," Yoruichi yelled to the blonde in a serious voice as she ditched the haori. As Naruto stared at the woman, she continued. "Get to a safe area! Now!"

"With all due respect," the plant-like hollow yelled as he launched a vine toward the retreating group, and another toward Yoruichi, whom he caught. "I can't let a meal get away!"

However, he received two unexpected surprises.

A crimson shield blocked the vine going after the group.

Yoruichi faded like an illusion as the vine tightened around air.

"How the hell did you get here?" the plant creature whined aloud as he saw his main course run away. "There aren't any shinigami in this world!"

"Wherever there's hollows, there's shinigami," Yoruichi said in a serious tone as she folded her arms. She smirked as hollow stepped back, "You should know better than that!"

The hollow winced again as Kisuke appeared near Yoruichi.

"Are you sure you want to take us on?" Kisuke said. The plant continued to step back as he glanced at the woman, then to the haori on the ground, remembering what that signified for shinigami.

"You bastards ruined my main course!" he said as the sky began to break open. "However, I'm not stupid enough to fight a captain, so I'll bid farewell."

"That's what they all say," Yoruichi replied in a deadpan tone as she unsheathed her sword to attack the hollow. However, she stopped her attack when she noticed light bathing the hollow.

"Next time, I'll be stronger," the hollow said as he floated to the sky. "I'll eat all of you!"

"Find those pluses," Yoruichi said to Kisuke as the hollow disappeared in the sky. "We must use konso on them."

"They're not from the living world," Kisuke said as he scratched his head. "I'm not sure if it will work."

"We have to try," she said as she folded her arms in disgust. "You felt their reiatsu, right?"

"Yep," Kisuke said. "Their reiatsu is stronger than a typical shinigami. The girl you saved was at least a rookie third seat, and she's the weakest of the bunch."

"You believe they're on your level Kisuke?" Yoruichi asked as they began to sprint through the woods.

"With training and some experience," Kisuke said with a smile, "They have the potential to surpass some of the captains."

"I see," the female shinigami said with a serious tone. "More reason to use konso. We don't need them becoming hollows."

"Or Arrancar," Kisuke added.

x X x

As the shinigami caught up with the shinobi spirits in the open field, an awkward silence ensued.

"Thanks for saving," Naruto said with a smile. "Who are you guys?"

"I'm Kisuke Urahara," the male shinigami said. He pointed to his comrade and added, "The lady over here is Yoruichi Shihouin." She waved at everyone with a smile. "Now, do you mind telling us who you are?"

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki," the blond said. "The most unpredictable shinobi on this continent!" Yoruichi and Kisuke raised their eyebrows while he remained silent for a moment as he remembered his situation. With a puzzled look, he added, "Or at least I was." Sakura palmed her face as Kisuke glanced at Yoruichi, who shrugged.

"I'm Sakura Haruno," she said to break the odd silence, and introduced everyone else. "The others are Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, Hinata Hyuuga, Kiba Inuzuka, and Tenten." She glanced at Yoruichi as she added, "We're all shinobi from—"

"Why doesn't she have a last name?" Kisuke interrupted, pointing to Tenten.

"I don't acknowledge it or use it," she responded as her eyes narrowed. "Is there a problem with that?" Kisuke backed away, holding his hands in the air.

"Now that we're acquainted with each other," Shikamaru said as he scrunched his eyes closed for a second, "we have a few questions."

"Fire away," Kisuke said while Yoruichi nodded.

"What was that monster that attacked?" Ino asked.

"That was a hollow," Kisuke said. "They come to living worlds to feed on the souls of the dead." As everyone glanced at each other, he continued, "They have a tendency to target powerful souls because it sedates their hunger for long periods of time."

"So why did it attack us?" Tenten asked. "We don't have any of our abilities from when we were alive."

"Because your souls are powerful," Yoruichi said, which caused Naruto to emit a giggle. "We'll explain that part later."

"So what are you guys?" Kiba asked.

"We are shinigami," Yoruichi said in a serious tone. "It's our job to—"

"You two can't be a shinigami!" Naruto said as he pointed at them. While Yoruichi turned her face to an unamused frown, he added, "Shinigami are supposed to be big, ugly and intimidating! They don't look like a man who woke up out of bed and a beautiful woman! That monster who attacked us looked more like a shinigami!"

"Have you seen a shinigami before?" Kisuke asked as Sakura and Hinata glanced at Yoruichi before returning their gazes to everyone.

"Er, no." Naruto said with a sheepish tone.

"Then how do you know what one looks like?" Kisuke added. Naruto sat to contemplate that thought.

"Like I was saying," Yoruichi said, "It's our job to guide good spirits to Soul Society before that," she glanced at Ino and pointed to the chain on her chest, "disappears."

"Soul Society?" Kiba said with a quizzical tone. "What's that?"

"Have you heard of heaven," Yoruichi said with a smile. When everyone in the group nodded, she added, "That's another name for it."

"What happens if the chain on the chest disappears?" Sakura asked.

"Then you become a hollow," Yoruichi said. The shinobi winced at the thought of turning into a vicious monster.

"There's just one problem," Kisuke said.

"What problem?" Tenten asked.

"We're not shinigami from this world," Kisuke responded with a smile. The shinobi groaned as he continued, "We happened to stumble upon it while undergoing a research trip."

"So do we wait for another shinigami to from our world to send us to Soul Society?" Shikamaru asked.

"Not exactly," Kisuke said with a serious tone. "We're going to try something else. An experiment to be precise."

"An experiment?" Kiba asked. "Why?"

"To be frank, the reiatsu levels coming from you are expansive," Yoruichi said in a serious tone. "They exceed that of a typical shinigami. We also don't know if there are shinigami in—"

"Yes! We have a ton of reiatsu!" Naruto interrupted. However, his cheering stopped as he asked, "What's reiatsu?"

"Spirit energy," Yoruichi said with a frown. "It's what holds a spirit together, and allows shinigami to do their job. The more there is, the more powerful a soul may become. This includes both shinigami and hollows."

"So how much reiatsu do we have?" Sakura asked as she leaned forward.

"I would say each of you has the reiatsu level of a high-level shinigami," Kisuke said. He grabbed his sword, and tapped the hilt on Shikamaru. As Shikamaru flashed in a light, and vanished, he added with a smile, "But you'll have time to learn about that later."

"What did you do to him?" Ino screeched, as everyone looked at the empty space with wide eyes.

"Don't worry," Yoruichi said. "He sent him to Soul Society." As Ino opened her mouth in surprise, the female shinigami added as Kisuke performed konso on Hinata, "It's too risky to leave you here. Since your reiatsu levels are high, hollows will continue to pursue you if you stay here."

Everyone remaining nodded in agreement. One by one, Kisuke tapped the foreheads of the shinobi with his zanpakutou.

"Well, this is an interesting development," Kisuke said. "Hollows have access to another world."

"How is this world not overrun with hollows?" Yoruichi asked. "This place should be another Hueco Mundo."

"It's because of beings like myself," A voice whispered behind them. The shinigami turned around, only to see a woman with red hair.

"Who are you?" Kisuke asked the woman.

"I am Kyuubi no Kitsune," the woman said with a feral smile, bearing her fangs at the shinigami.

"So how do you protect the world from hollows?" Yoruichi asked, as she and Kisuke remained unfazed by the bijuu.

"Glad you asked," Kyuubi said as her smile disappeared. "Since there are no shinigami in this world to slay hollows, Kami created myself and eight others to protect this world from them."

"Kami?" Yoruichi said as she widened her eyes. "You mean—"

"The king?" Kyuubi said with a smirk. After Yoruichi and Kisuke nodded, she continued, "After we defeat the hollows, their souls are reborn in the living world you call Earth. However, over some generations, our job has been ... compromised."

"What do you mean by that?" Kisuke asked, glancing around the area.

"Some of the humans in this world managed to sealed us inside objects or humans," Kyuubi said. "The last blonde you sent to the afterlife? I was sealed inside of him thanks to assistance from a hollow spirit."

"That explains his enormous reiatsu," Kisuke said. "If he had training, he could take on some of the captains in Seireitei now." Yoruichi nodded at the statement.

"The people in this world believe the hollows are shinigami," she said as she rolled her eyes. "They strive for knowledge, and even used some powers of the shinigami, but they remain ignorant."

"Now that you're free," Yoruichi said, interrupting the fox's rant, "You can handle your job, correct?"

"Yes," Kyuubi said. "Humans can see us, but as long as we remain in our human form, only spirits and those with high spiritual insight will notice the difference."

"Then we'll leave this world to you," Yoruichi said as Kisuke opened the dimensional portal.

"May I ask for one last favor?" Kyuubi asked.

"Sure," Yoruichi asked.

"The blond brat. Can you make sure he stays well?" Kyuubi said with hesitation. "Everyone treated him bad because I was a 'demon' sealed inside of him."

"We'll do what we can," Kisuke said as Yoruichi stepped through the gate. "He has the potential to be one of the greatest shinigami."

x X x

_Author Notes: _

Thanks to everyone who reviewed the first chapter – especially to those who contributed beneficial critique that will assist in improving this narrative for future chapters. With that in mind, I want to answer some of the questions from the reviews.

I respect the recommendations for the harem combinations, because it indicates that people are interested in the story – or in the worst case scenario, the sexual scenes with said characters. However, in the planning stage of the story, I already picked the women for the harem. To change the women, would mean to change the basis of the story. That is something a writer cannot compromise without being called a sellout.

Furthermore, there are suggestions of up to twenty different women for the harem. (Seventeen by one reviewer.) Considering that this is a crossover fic, the "suspension of disbelief" is precarious enough. Adding the fact that harems aren't normal, the "suspension of disbelief" is close to collapsing. Any harem with more than four or five women (with apologies to authors who write as such) destroys the "suspension of disbelief," causing some to lose the reader.

With those two factors in mind, I will not change the story to add more women to the harem. I hope everyone understands this.

The world Kisuke visited in the first chapter was the world of Final Fantasy VII. Throughout the story, you may find some references to other media. Some, you'll have to look harder, while others are more blatant.

To answer the question of having a lemon with Sakura and Naruto in the first chapter, this is two years after current manga events, which gives more than enough time for feelings to develop. Throughout the story, their friendship/relationship will become a major theme, as you'll get pieces and bits of a puzzle to a hidden past.

Some thoughts about this chapter. The scene with Kisuke, Yoruichi, and Kyuubi (in her human form) is an enormous (if not obvious) hint for what may happen in the future. Of course, I'm sure that as the reader, you are smart enough to figure it out. If not, or you're just too lazy, wait and see.

Next up is _Chapter 3: New World Awareness_. All I have to say is the first experience in a new world isn't necessarily a great one.

Until then, I ask that you give honest and fair critique for the story and that you enjoy the rest of your day – or night, depending where you are.


	3. New World Awareness

Author Notes:

You may have noticed it already, but like in my other story, I use the English order of names instead of the Japanese order. (Being that the story is in English.) That means the given name comes first, then the family name.

I'll save everything else for the end of the story. Until then, enjoy, as some shinigami will make their debuts.

x X x

_Chapter 3: New World Awareness _

"How long I've been out?" Naruto whispered to himself as he gained consciousness. Pushing himself off the floor, he saw everyone standing around him. While Sakura knelt next to him, he saw Tenten and Hinata looking over a ledge, while Kiba, Ino, and Shikamaru leaned against a wall.

As he stood up, the blond man surveyed the unfamiliar area around him.

"Where the hell are we?" he screamed. "That woman lied! This isn't heaven! This place is a dirty shit hole—"

"Keep it down Naruto," Shikamaru said as he glanced down the roof, while Kiba and Sakura covered his mouth with their hands. As Tenten and Hinata ducked their heads, he added, "To answer your questions, you were out of it for four hours, and no one knows what this place is yet either!"

"Fights seem to break out often out there," Tenten added as she looked down on the scene of two brawls again. She turned away from the ledge while adding, "At least there's no demons or monsters like we saw before."

"That just means we're not in hell," Ino said with a dismissive shrug. "But I'm with Naruto. There's no way this place is heaven!"

"If we're going to be here," Sakura added as she and Kiba removed her hand away from Naruto's mouth, "might as well figure things out."

"We should get moving," Shikamaru said with a nod. "Since there are no hollows around, I'm sure everyone here can defend themselves if an idiot picks a fight with any of—"

"Hey!" Ino yelled as she stomped her foot. "I'm not a fighter. I don't have brute strength like Kiba or dexterity like Hinata. I don't even have your brains!"

"Can you use self-defense techniques from the academy?" Shikamaru asked with a sigh as everyone turned his or her attention to the two.

"Of course I can, but anyone—" Ino said as she lowered her voice.

"Can you administer first aid?" Shikamaru added.

"Yes, but—"

"Then you're good to go," he said. "Except for Naruto, we all saw how people fight here. None of them seem too troublesome." He turned to everyone else and added, "Let's get moving."

"Right," Hinata said as she turned her gaze away from the fight. "We should avoid going East. That's where most of the fighting—"

"Hinata," Naruto said as everyone nodded in agreement. He pointed at her and continued, "Your eyes. They're violet!" With a smile, he finished. "Cool! They're pretty!"

"You're just noticing that?" Kiba said as he smacked him in the back of the head while Hinata blushed. "She's not the only one with changes, moron."

"Huh?" Naruto said as he scratched his head. "What do you mean by that? I don't see any differences with anyone except Hinata."

"Look for yourself," Ino said as she dragged him to a window. Bringing his face up to it, he noticed the reflection. "Now do you see?"

"The whisker marks," Naruto whispered as he touched his face. "They're gone." He opened his mouth, and noticed his teeth were not as pointed either.

"This is probably what we look like," Sakura said as he glanced at Hinata, then at Naruto, "without aid from chakra."

"I get it," Tenten said as she glanced at the two. "Hinata doesn't have the Byakugan, so we see her eyes really look like and—"

"The features of the fur ball aren't there," Naruto added, finishing the sentence.

"Exactly," Shikamaru said as everyone walked to the roof entrance. "We should split up. Find any information and resources. We'll meet near this building in an hour."

"I agree," Tenten said with a nod. "We should also find better shelter. Worst case scenario, we could use this building, but..." She tapped a wall as her voice trailed off. When some debris fell from the ceiling, she added, "The infrastructure isn't secure."

"Which is why we can't stay here," Shikamaru said as they walked downstairs. "I remember what it's like to have something collapse on me. I don't want to feel that again."

Everyone nodded as they reached the ground floor.

"Hinata, you go with Naruto and Sakura and head south," As the three nodded, he continued, "Everyone else follows me north."

With a nod, they reached the street, and departed in separate directions.

x X x

Yoruichi Shihouin and Kisuke Urahara stood in front of the captains in an emergency meeting. Since there was only an hour notice, and some captains were under current assignments, only nine of the other twelve captains made the meeting.

Kisuke glanced around. While Yoruichi was familiar with the surroundings as the second division captain, this is his first time in the captain meeting hall.

To his left, he noticed the blank space of the second division, which Yoruichi occupied under normal circumstances. To the left of the empty space, was the space for the fourth division, occupied by a woman with her hair worn in a braid in front of her. Kisuke knew the woman was Retsu Unohana, as she directly supervised the treatment and rehabilitation of serious injuries to members of the second division.

To her left was an elderly man. From what Yoruichi told him about politics in Seireitei, the man was most likely a member of the Kuchiki clan, who oversaw the sixth division for generations, similar to the Shihouin clan for the second division. Next to him was a man with a farmer's hat and a flowery haori draped over his captain attire. Even if he couldn't see the kanji symbol, he knew he represented the eighth division.

After he noticed the empty space representing the tenth division, he noticed a young woman with red hair, who smiled and waved at him. Kisuke smiled back as he knew Kirio Hikifune, who served as lieutenant for the second division before she promoted to the twelfth division several decades ago.

He glanced over to his right. While the spot for the third division remained unoccupied, he noticed the captain of the fifth division. He had straight blond hair and an eerie smile. To the man's right, he saw a man with an afro haircut wearing sunglasses, an invention that hasn't become popular in the living world yet.

Glancing further to the right, he noticed a tough looking man with silver hair that represented the ninth division. He remembered his name as Kensei Muguruma, because he overheard so many of the female shinigami speak about him, most of the conversations speaking about how they wanted him in bed.

While it surprised no one that the space occupying the eleventh division was empty, he noticed a man with long white hair, also glancing around at everyone else. Kisuke knew Jushiro Ukitake, as he may be the most popular captain in the Gotei Thirteen. If it weren't for his odd sickness, some would consider him the second-most powerful captain.

However, the elderly man with a long beard that stood in front of him and Yoruichi held the distinction of the most powerful captain. He was none other than the captain of the first division, and commander of the Gotei Thirteen.

The man in front of him tapped his staff, no doubt his zanpakutou, indicating the beginning of the meeting.

"It has come to our attention," said the elderly man with the staff, "that Captain Shihouin and third seat Urahara experimented with a variable portal that leads to different worlds." Casting his gaze at the two, he added, "Am I correct with that assumption?"

"That is correct General Yamamoto," Yoruichi replied. "While Kisuke made a journey to a different world on his own, I went with him to the second world." She sighed as she added, "From what we gathered in our search, we believe that the second world consisted of the Elemental Countries."

"The Elemental Countries?" asked Kirio. "I remember stories about them from childhood. Beasts battled and roamed those lands. From what I learned, only the strongest souls could survive there."

"Yeah," said the man with the flowery haori. "Heard the same stories too, but those are just make believe stuff to scare the recruits from doing anything stupid."

"With all due respect Captain Kyoraku," Yoruichi said, "I have reasons to believe that this is the world from those tales."

"How so?" General Yamamoto asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"We used konso on seven souls that were under an attack by hollows with success," Yoruichi said. General Yamamoto frowned as she continued, "The fact we were successful means there is a connection to that world and our own realm."

"That makes sense," the man with the afro said. "It's still hard to believe."

"These souls in particular were strong. If they became hollows, they would've presented a serious problem."

"Hollows in a different world Shihouin-sama?" Kirio asked with a raised voice. "Without shinigami, it should be another Hueco Mundo!"

"It's a good thing the beasts you spoke about are there Captain Hikifune," Yoruichi replied. "They allow the souls to be reborn into the living world. However, prior to our arrival, all were inactive for about three years." She glanced up before returning her gaze to her fellow captains. "Beforehand, the hollows had a feeding frenzy. Who knows how many spirits became hollows from that world?"

"This is not good," Kyoraku said as he glanced at his fellow captains, some with worried expressions on their faces.

"The humans in that world believe the hollows are shinigami," Yoruichi said with a snort.

"How strong are the souls from that world Captain Shihouin?" asked the man with the long white hair with his eyebrows raised.

"They're very powerful Captain Ukitake," Kisuke answered. "Based on the reiatsu of the souls we sent here alone, each of them have the potential to become a seated shinigami. With proper training from the academy, they could reach lieutenant or captain level with relative ease."

"Hollows had access to that kind of power?" Kensei stated. "No wonder my division is complaining about harder fights!"

"I understand Captain Muguruma," Yoruichi responded. "That situation seems to be under control for now. If not, we can always open the gate again and take care of the problem directly."

"There's one problem with that," Kisuke said. "When we returned, the gate malfunctioned." Everyone in the room opened their mouths in surprise as he added, "It won't be operational for some time."

"That's great news," the man with the long blond hair said in a sarcastic tone as Yoruichi glared at her subordinate. As some groans permeating around the room, he asked, "When can it be opened again?"

"It should take about a month to repair Captain Hirako," Kisuke said. "Give or take a few days. Afterward, perhaps we can send a division to investigate—"

"It's probably in the best interests of Soul Society that the portal isn't opened again," General Yamamoto said, which surprised many of the shinigami in the room. "If we meddle in the affairs of another world, who knows of the consequences of such actions." With a sigh, he added, "The hollows have done so, and now they're more difficult to combat."

"That is correct, Yamamoto-sama," Captain Unohana stated. She turned to Kisuke as she added, "In the past, only one out of five hundred battles with hollows ended with the loss of a shinigami." She glanced around as she added, "However, as Captain Muguruma suggested, current data shows that one in every two hundred battles end with the loss of a shinigami."

"I understand. I'll deconstruct the gate." Kisuke said with a shrug. He smiled as he added, "I wanted to see what other worlds had to offer, but we could also land in something worse than Hueco Mundo, or even hell."

"In the meantime," General Yamamoto said as many of the captains nodded in agreement, "since the second division brought those souls from the world, it is their responsibility to find them and bring them to Seireitei." As Kisuke winced and Yoruichi frowned, he continued, "If their reiatsu is as powerful as you state, they are a danger to those surrounding them in Rukongai without the ability to control their power." With a sigh, he added, "They must become shinigami."

"It can take months to find them in Rukongai!" Kisuke said in a high tone while Yoruichi stood calm.

"Then I suggest you get an early start Urahara-san," Yamamoto replied. "Be glad that Central 46 decided not to punish you for your latest experiment."

x X x

A young girl wandered around a market place. She glanced at her hand, and realized she didn't have enough money to buy food. While the girl never felt hungry since she arrived in Rukongai, she understood that she needed to eat for the sake of her health.

As everyone moved around the market, she grabbed two apples and tucked them under her sleeves as she glanced around. Grabbing the edges of her sleeves, she strolled away, hoping no one noticed her.

"Stop right there!" yelled a man as he ran to her. She sprinted away as he yelled, "Thief! Stop that thief!"

The girl didn't get too far, as she stumbled upon the ground after running for a short distance. The apples rolled away onto the ground as she attempted to get up, but the man caught up to her and kicked her chest.

"Why are you stealing from my market," the man said as she released a painful grunt as she collapsed to the ground. He knelt down and picked her up by her hair and yelled as she scrunched her eyes in pain, "You know what I do to thieves, right?"

"You're nothing but a cheat," the girl said as she opened her left eye. Her stare pierced his gaze as she added, "You overprice everyone for—"

"Know your place," the merchant said as he threw her into a wall. As she groaned in agony and crumpled on the ground, he walked to her and added, "This is what happens to thieves when they steal from my market."

He attempted to kick her again in the ribs, but his foot stopped short as a fist collided with his face forcing him to stumble backwards.

The fist belonged to Naruto Uzumaki.

As the merchant fell toward a display of tomatoes, Sakura rushed over to the girl to check on her.

"She's having problems breathing," Sakura said as Naruto cracked his fist. "We need to get her treatment."

"Why did you hit that girl," Naruto yelled as he narrowed his eyes. "She couldn't fight back!"

"She's a thief," the merchant said as he spat at Naruto. "She's lucky I didn't chop off her fingers. That's the law here in this part of Rukongai."

"She's a little girl!" Sakura yelled. "You didn't have to go that far—"

Her words ceased as a menacing man approached, holding a machete in his hand.

"Is there a problem boss?" the machete-wielding man asked the merchant.

"Do your job asshole! Take care of blondie and pinky or I'll dock your pay again!" the merchant yelled from the ground. "They're in the way of my business!"

"Yes sir," the guard said to the merchant as Naruto and Sakura as they eased themselves into fighting stances, with Sakura standing in front of the girl. He turned to the two and said, "It's part of the job," as he swung his machete at Naruto who stepped back from the blow. "Nothing personal kid."

However, before he could swing his sword at them again, he felt someone hit his legs from behind, causing him to lose his balance. The machete clanged around the ground as he hit the ground with a grown.

Behind the man was Hinata Hyuuga, who proceeded to kick the machete toward Sakura and constrained the guard with an arm lock using her legs, disabling the guard from doing more.

"I won't let you get away with this," the merchant said as he scrambled onto his feet. He attempted to run toward the back of the market, but he slipped and fell next to a set of scales. Naruto approached the man as he attempted to regain his balance, only for the merchant to slip again. As he fell for the second time, his hand slammed onto the scales.

Additional weights hidden from the customers fell from the scales, clanging onto the ground with an echo.

"Hey!" yelled a customer as the merchant looked at the weights with widened eyes. "He's using iron weights instead of sand weights! That bastard is cheating us!"

"The little girl was right," yelled another person as the merchant crawled on his knees. "Kick his ass!" The merchant scampered to his feet as he somehow ran from the exit of the market, with a mob of angry people chasing him.

"Everyone okay?" Naruto asked as Sakura dropped the machete, while Hinata released the arm hold on the man.

"We're fine," Sakura said as Hinata stood up. Her eyes shifted toward the girl as she added, "but she needs medical attention. I think she may have a rib injury by the way she's breathing." She turned to girl and asked, "What's your name?"

"Hisana," the girl said through her teeth as she held her right side.

"I'm Sakura," she said. "The girl over there is Hinata, and the blond is Naruto. We're going to help you, okay?"

"There's some pain medicine," the guard said from the ground as Hisana nodded at Sakura. He pushed himself up as he added, "That may help her until she gets treatment."

"Thanks," Naruto said. "But why are you helping us? Don't you work for that—"

"I wouldn't have been paid anyway," the man said as he walked away. Hinata nodded as he added, "Feel free to take what you want. The bastard deserves to lose his business."

"Where are your parents Hisana?" Naruto asked as Sakura went to find the medicine. "Shouldn't they be—"

"Don't have any," she said as she gazed on the ground. "It's just me and my baby sister. We died in a fire and some odd woman in black clothes sent us here. She had green hair and weird glasses in her head."

"I understand," Hinata said as Sakura came back with the medicine. "We were sent here by shinigami too." Glancing around, she asked, "Where's your sister?"

"She's at the orphanage," Hisana replied. "She'll be okay."

"I'm going to check on your ribs," Sakura said as she signaled Naruto to turn around. As he turned his back away, Sakura pulled away the upper part of the girl's kimono, and noticed a bruise on her right side.

"Don't move. This may hurt a bit, " Sakura said before she pressed on the bruise. Hisana yelped in pain as Sakura added, "Two of your ribs are cracked. We can't wrap the wound because it will make it worse, but this medicine should help ease the pain until it heals on it's own."

"Why did you steal from the market?" Hinata asked.

"We needed the food," Hisana replied as Sakura placed the robe back on her shoulders. "Plus that creep cheated everyone out of their money, including me!"

"Can't say I'd do the same, but I understand where you're coming from," Sakura said. Her head turned to blond. "You can turn around Naruto." She turned back to Hisana. "I'll find some ice. It should help numb the pain until the medicine kicks in." Hisana nodded.

"Like the guard said, take what you need," Naruto said to Hisana with a smile as Sakura ran around the market. As Hisana smiled, he added, "Bring your friends from the orphanage. The creep deserves to go out of business, especially after what he did to you."

"We should take a few things for ourselves," Sakura yelled from a distance while she grabbed some ice. "We need to eat and get a few supplies too."

"We also have to meet everyone soon," Hinata said as Sakura returned with a bag of ice.

"Try not to breathe deeply or twist around," Sakura said to Hisana as she placed the bag of ice on her ribcage. "The pain will be there for a month or two, so you have to keep using the medicine and ice until then."

"I wonder how everyone else is doing?" Naruto asked he grabbed a few unused bags.

x X x

"That creep!" Ino yelled as she stormed out of a building. Shikamaru followed her outside, albeit keeping a safe distance from her.

"I take it that this place wouldn't give us any shelter either," Tenten said as she waited outside with Kiba.

"He offered for me to stay alright," Ino said as she clenched her fist while Kiba and Shikamaru frowned, knowing it's the same response the last four people that Ino asked for aid. "He wanted me to give him a blowjob in exchange! The nerve! I'm not some cheap prostitute!"

"I guess we have to look elsewhere—" Shikamaru said.

"If another guy asks me to sleep with him," Ino interrupted, "I'm going to castrate him!"

"Yeah," Tenten said as Kiba cringed. "We should keep looking. Naruto, Sakura, and Hinata will be back—"

"Is this how it is in Rukongai?" Ino screeched. "I'm surrounded by perverts who can't get laid!"

"There's an inn," Shikamaru said as he pointed at a building as he ignored the blonde's rants. There was some irony, as it was not far from the dilapidated building they exited from. As the three approached the building, they saw a sign that read "Help Wanted."

"Who's going to talk this time," Kiba said as Ino stomped on the street, kicking up dust as she spoke several obscenities.

"Tenten and I will speak to the manager," Shikamaru said as he glanced at Ino. Tenten and Kiba nodded as he continued, "You and Ino watch out for the others. They should be coming back soon."

The three of them nodded in agreement as Shikamaru and Tenten went inside the inn. Meanwhile, Kiba had to calm Ino down as she was about to throw an empty trash basket at the previous building.

x X x

"Hello," Tenten said as she glanced around the hotel. "Anyone in here?"

"Huh?" a man said as he lifted his head from the desk. Noticing the two people, he smiled as he said, "Welcome to the Taiken Inn! How may I be of service?"

"Actually," Shikamaru said, "We're interested in the jobs you advertised out on the window. Are there any positions—"

"Really?" the man behind the desk interrupted with a smile. "You're hired!"

"Huh?" Tenten said as Shikamaru stared at the man. She raised her eyebrows. "Just like that? No interview? No background check?"

"I'm desperate for workers," the man said with a nod. "I can't keep up with customers and everyone get scared away by the riffraff that lurk around the streets." He waved around the lobby as he added, "My son comes around at times, but he's been so busy at Seireitei lately."

"We won't be scared so easily," Tenten said with a smirk.

"I can tell that by your presence," the man said with a nod. "I'm surprised you haven't joined the shinigami academy in Seireitei by now. You must have been here for at least fifty years."

"Actually," Shikamaru said, "We've only been here for a few hours."

"I see," the man said as he widened his eyes. "That is a surprise."

Tenten blinked as she added. "What if we brought five more people to help?"

"That'd be great," the man said. "My name is Higoku Taiken. Bring them along."

"I'm Shikamaru Nara," he said as he bowed with his hands at his sides. "This is Tenten—"

"Just Tenten is fine," she interrupted as she bowed as well, albeit with her hands clasped in front of her. "Pleased to meet you Taiken-san."

"Alright," Higoku said. "Since you're new to Rukongai, if you need it, I'll give you all a room to stay while you work here."

"That's too much," Tenten said with a raised voice. "There's seven of us. Won't that be too intrusive?"

"Nope," Higoku said as he waved his hand around the lobby. "This place has forty rooms. We usually have no more than ten rooms occupied at a time because of where we are."

"We'll only use three of them," Tenten said. With a smile, she added, "With us helping, you'll need all the space you can get. This place will be filled to the limit."

"If you say so young lady," Higoku said with a shrug as he left the seat behind the desk. "I'll go get some paperwork for everyone to sign. Go get your friends in the meantime."

"Sure thing," Shikamaru said as Higoku walked into a different room. "Thanks again!"

"That was too easy," Tenten whispered as Shikamaru nodded. "He seemed too eager to hire us."

"Can't blame him. It's a rough neighborhood," he replied as Tenten nodded. "At least we have a place to stay and a way to pay for things." He glanced at the exit as he added, "Everyone else should be back. Let's go tell them."

As they walked outside, Kiba and Ino still waited for Naruto, Sakura and Hinata to return.

"So what's the word on the inn?" Kiba asked.

"In exchange for shelter and pay, we work for the owner," Tenten said.

"That's great!" Ino said as she pumped her fist in the air. As Kiba smiled, they noticed the approach of three people. Two of them carried several bags, while one pushed a wheelbarrow.

"Hey guys!" Naruto yelled as he carried a few bags. With a wide grin, he added, "We found food and supplies!"

"There's so much stuff," Kiba said as he took some bags from Hinata. Glancing at the amount of bags, he asked, "How did you do it?"

"Going-out-of-business sale," Sakura said as she stopped pushing the wheelbarrow. Ino and Tenten perked their eyebrows up as she added, "I'll explain the story later."

"Let's go inside," Shikamaru said as he turned to Naruto, Sakura and Hinata. "We found a place to stay in exchange for money and work. Our new boss should have paperwork ready for us soon."

"Sweet!" Naruto said as Hinata and Sakura smiled.

x X x

"... and that's the orders we received from General Yamamoto," Yoruichi said after she explained the details of the mission handed down from the Gotei Thirteen. In the room with her was Kisuke, a tall, muscular man with a thick moustache, and a short woman with long hair and a lithe build.

"That is to be expected," the man with the moustache said.

"I know Tessai," Kisuke said. "Despite their reiatsu levels, I'm certain none of them pose a threat to anyone in this room. At least one of us must go find them."

"Which is why I gathered everyone here," Yoruichi said with a sigh. "Since it was my suggestion to use Konso on those souls, I'll go. I'll leave every—"

"Yoruichi-sama," the short woman interrupted, "is it alright if I accompany you on this mission?"

"There's no need Soifon," Yoruichi replied with a sigh, as there was no hope for the young girl to drop the honorific. "I'll be fine, and the souls should recognize me."

"Actually," Kisuke replied, "They could be anywhere in Rukongai." He glanced at Soifon, then at Tessai. "The search may go quicker with two people, as this will take a while. I'd go myself, but I have to disassemble the gate."

"Since you put it that way," Yoruichi said with a sigh, "Soifon will come with me."

"Who will take charge of the division while you're gone?" Tessai asked while Soifon released a smile. "It could be months before your return."

"You're in charge," Yoruichi interrupted as she pointed to Kisuke. "Also, make sure the portal is deconstructed before Yamamoto scorches it himself."

"Yes Captain," Kisuke said with a smirk.

"We leave at dawn Soifon," Yoruichi said as she turned to the short woman. She turned to everyone as she added, "I'm going to retire for the night. This is going to be a long assignment."

"Yes Yoruichi-sama," Soifon said with a bow as the others nodded in agreement. As the captain of the second division groaned and left the room shaking her head, she turned to Kisuke and added, "Thank you Kisuke-san."

"Don't mention it," Kisuke said with a smile. "This is your opportunity to show Yoruichi what you're capable of."

"Why don't you do the same?" Tessai asked as Soifon left the room. "You're just as capable as Soifon."

"I rather tinker with things," Kisuke said as he grabbed some tools. "Maybe I can do that while I'm captain of another division."

"I see," Tessai said. "That's why you reject other responsibilities in the division?"

"Exactly," Kisuke said. "Besides, if Yoruichi doesn't produce an heir, Soifon is better suited for leading the second than I am."

x X x

"And that's everything that needs to be done," Higoku said. With a smile, he added, "You can decide for yourselves on who does what, as long as it's done."

"Yes Taiken-san," Sakura said as the other women gave a polite bow with their hands clasped in front of them. Kiba and Shikamaru gave a short bow, while Naruto smiled at the man.

"I'm giving you rooms 1-1, 1-2, and 1-3," he said as he handed the keys to Shikamaru. "Decide on what rooms you want. I'm going to the bath and calling it a night." He walked away as he added, "Everyone wakes up at dawn."

"The guys will share one room," Shikamaru said as he handed a key to Sakura and Hinata. "The girls will share the other two rooms."

"I'll share one room with Hinata," Tenten said as she remembered the glares between Hinata and Sakura. "Is that okay?"

"I don't care what room I sleep in," Ino said before she yawned. "I'm going to sleep."

"Same here," Kiba said as everyone walked to their respective rooms. However, as everyone continued out the lobby, Sakura grabbed Naruto on the shoulder.

"Can we talk for a moment?" Sakura asked, as they were alone.

"Sure," he replied as they sat near the stairs. "What's on your mind Sakura?"

"Earlier in the day," she said, "Why did you help Hisana?"

"She couldn't defend herself," he replied as he glanced up for a moment. "I saw two others steal from the merchant, but he chose to go after the girl because she couldn't defend herself, while the other guys could probably pummel him without a problem."

"I hope she's okay," she said while shifting her legs closer to him. "Her broken ribs will make it difficult for her to breathe." She sighed before she added, "She didn't deserve broken ribs for stealing two apples."

"She'll be okay if she took your advice," Naruto said. "You've helped heal my injuries before. You're the best medic I know."

"Yeah," she said as she hung her head down. "If I had my chakra, I could've just mended the fractures without a problem."

"I miss having chakra," Naruto said with a frown. "Everyone could sit back while my Kage Bunshin do the dirty work. We could've got more food too."

"We'll adapt," Sakura said with a sigh. She leaned on Naruto as she added, "Think we'll be okay here?"

"Of course!" Naruto said as he smiled. "We took care of that crooked shopkeeper, right."

"Right," Sakura said with a smile. "I probably would've beat you to it first if I noticed the same things."

"We'll do okay in this 'Rukongai' place," Naruto said as he glanced at the ceiling. "Who knows? Maybe we can become shinigami like Higoku's son."

"I guess," Sakura said. With a yawn, she added, "I'm getting tired. I should probably head to sleep."

"Same here," Naruto said. "Good night Sakura."

"You too," she replied as she leaned forward and kissed him on the lips. Pulling her face away, she smiled as she eased off the staircase and walked to her room.

x X x

"Hinata, are you all right," Tenten asked as she undid her buns. Letting her hair fall behind her back, she added, "You look like you saw a ghost ... wait, that's what we are..." She stayed silent as her voice trailed off. Realizing she couldn't find the right words to say, she added, "I thought you were going to ask Kiba a question. Did he do something—"

"Don't worry, I'm fine," she said as she dragged her feet and grabbed a futon and a sheet. She unrolled it on the ground as she added, "He's already asleep. I'll ask him in the morning." She crouched on the floor and slipped into onto the bed as she added, "We have a long day."

"Okay, if you say so," Tenten said as she blew out the candle next to her. "Good night Hinata."

"Good night," she replied as she took off her jacket and folded it neatly beside her. She rested on her back and looked at the ceiling.

She closed her eyes, thinking about what she saw on the staircase a moment ago.

Emotions overcame her mind as the image of Sakura and Naruto sharing a kiss reappeared. She was sad that she couldn't be the one for Naruto. Ever since they met in the academy, she admired him for his strength and perseverance. When he trained for two and a half years, she devoted her time to becoming strong like him.

She also felt elated that Naruto was able to find love, especially with someone he wanted to be with since she remembered him. She remembered how everyone treated him with scorn and malice and wouldn't show him respect, even after he established himself as one of the best shinobi of Konoha. He deserved any kindness that came his way.

However, the main emotion in her heart was resentment toward the pink-haired woman, which built over the years. She remembered the times Sakura rejected him through the years, opting to chase someone far away. That grudge raised to the surface again as she saw Sakura do what she always wanted to do, but never had the courage to do it.

"Why now?" she whispered as she opened her eyes. She blew out the candle next to her.

She closed her eyes again as the room darkened.

A teardrop rolled down the side of her face as she laid on her back.

x X x

Author's note:

That ends the third chapter of this story.

(Prepares to face readers with heavy armor) – yes, the scene with Hinata at the end was a heartbreaker. As she's one of my favorite characters in the series, it was hard for me to write. However, nothing is that easy in the pursuit of a relationship (even in a harem). If it were tooeasy, it wouldn't be much of a story.

The other scene I struggled with that I must admit, was the scene at the market. It wasn't easy to write a scene where someone beats up on a child. Not that I advocate thievery (or child abuse), but the punishment should fit the crime. Place in Hisana (whom most Bleach fans should recognize) as the child, and it makes for an interesting scenario later in the story.

I have a small theory about reiatsu, which I am using in this story. The more reiatsu a person owns in their soul, the slower their spirit form ages. However, most children have low levels of reiatsu (Hitsugaya and Yachiru being exceptions to the rule) so they will grow to become adolescents at a pace slightly slower than humans do. Once puberty hits, reiatsu becomes more abundant, slowing their aging further.

That can also explain how in the Turn Back the Pendulum arc, we see a child version of Nanao, and a (what seems to be) a pre-teen version of Byakuya, whereas by the time the invasion occurs, both are adults. (With Byakuya around his late 20s looks wise, and Nanao being around eighteen or nineteen.)

Some people will ask if we will see Konoha or the Elemental Countries again in this story. As the way the story progresses, it's not likely, as this will follow the events of Bleach very soon after a few more chapters.

For those who didn't get the clue that Kyuubi left in the second chapter, the Gotei 13 Captain's meeting reiterated the clue, making it clearer about what may have happened to those who died in the Elemental Countries.

Next up is _Chapter 4: Confrontation, Battle, and Information_.

As usual, I ask that you give honest and fair critique for the chapter. Otherwise, I hope you enjoy the rest of your day or night, depending where you are.


	4. Confrontation, Battle, and Information

Author Notes:

Matsumoto and Soifon looked impressive in the commencement of their battles in Bleach 330! To think, the best has not appeared from either of them.

Fan-brat things aside, it's been a while since I updated this story. I got over my health issues, but I also hit writer's block with this story. Although this chapter is half of what I usually write, I felt that it was more prudent to update it, regardless of word count.

I'll do the rest of the notes later. Without further ado, here is the next chapter. Enjoy!

x X x

_Chapter 4: Confrontation, Battle, and Information _

The following morning, Hinata was the first person to leave her room and began her chores as soon as the first sign of dawn crept through the window. It also helped that while her roommate went to sleep with relative ease, she stayed awake the entire night.

All she could think about was how she saw Sakura kissing Naruto. If she knew what happened before everyone died in that mission, and was sent to Soul Society, perhaps she'd become a complete insomniac.

As she walked into the hotel kitchen, she wondered what Naruto saw in the pink-haired woman. When they were children, it was common knowledge in the academy that Sakura outright despised him while he pursued her affections. When they joined the same shinobi team, her lack of affection remained obvious.

Grabbing several pots and adding water to them, she wondered when Sakura changed her feelings about Naruto. She acted differently around Naruto since he returned from training. Maybe Sakura thought of Naruto as a replacement for that traitor she and Ino always pursued.

Hinata slammed one of the filled pots on the stove as she glanced around the room with her now-violet eyes, hoping she didn't wake anyone with the loud noise. When no one said anything, she resumed cooking. Perhaps cooking would keep her mind off what she saw last night.

That is, until she entered the kitchen.

"Is everything okay Hinata?" Sakura said as she entered the kitchen. She rubbed her eyes as she added, "I heard a bunch of noise as I passed by."

"It's nothing," Hinata replied with a hesitant tone as she grabbed a knife from the drawer. "I dropped a pot."

"Do you want any help?" Sakura asked with a yawn. "I'm surprised you're staring so early in—"

"No," Hinata said with hesitation as she grabbed some vegetables out of storage. She diced them with the knife as she added, "I can handle this by myself."

"Are you sure?" Sakura said as Hinata put some of the diced vegetables in the pot. "I may not be as good of a cook as you, but I'm not—"

"Sakura," Hinata said while glancing away from the woman. Dropping the knife on the cutting board, she strained through her teeth with some hesitation, "I said I don't need any help!"

"Is everything okay?" Sakura said as she raised her voice and folded her arms in front of her. "Did you wake up on the wrong side of bed?"

"I stayed awake all night," Hinata said. Turning her face to Sakura, she added, "I saw you and Naruto last night."

Sakura raised her eyebrow in surprise. She was sure no one saw them together. She also knew that Hinata didn't have the Byakugan anymore, so she could not see through solid objects.

Then again, Hinata was a shinobi too. She knows how to move around without drawing attention.

"Why?" Hinata said as she shifted her weight forward, her hands fidgeting on the preparation surface. "You know how much I cared about him, and yet you—"

"Did you ever make a move on him?" Sakura interrupted. Hinata remained silent as she continued, "You had several years to say how you felt, and I even held back my own feelings to give you a chance at him. What was I supposed to do? Wait forever while you continue to blush and faint in his presence?" She threw her hands up in the air in exasperation as the volume of her voice increased. "He still has no idea how you—"

"I was the one that loved him first," Hinata said as she matched the volume of Sakura's voice. Holding her hand on her hip, her lips trembled. "While everyone treated him like garbage in the academy, including you, I acknowledged him as a good person! When no one believed he could be a successful shinobi, I believed in him!" Water began to flood her eyes as she added, "Now that you see how strong he is, you want him too."

"I admit I was wrong in the past," Sakura replied, lowering her voice. "I was immature and wanted the guy everyone else wanted. I got over that, and I recognize Naruto for who he is – a great person."

"Are you sure you're not doing the same again?" Hinata said with sarcasm. "Before he died, women around the village began to talk about him in..." While her voice trailed off, Hinata felt the blood rush to her face as she recalled several conversations she overheard from various women in Konoha on what they'd do if they had time alone with Naruto.

Sakura also overheard the same conversations, as her face also turned a slight shade of pink. Then again, unlike the other women, she actually did something with Naruto.

"So you fell in love with him too?" Hinata said. When Sakura nodded, she asked, "When?"

"When he returned from training," Sakura said as she unfolded her arms. "Over that time, I missed him. Yes, he can be annoying at times, but he's also endearing and honest."

"He cares about everyone close to him," Hinata added before she sighed.

"Sorry you had to find out that way," Sakura said left the kitchen. "I didn't want to hurt you—"

"I haven't given up on him," Hinata interrupted as Sakura stopped walking. She walked to Sakura and added in a whisper, "If you hurt Naruto-kun in any way, I won't hesitate to wound you."

"I understand," Sakura said as she stepped outside the door. "I hope we never cross that point."

"Whore," the heiress cursed under her breath and she rolled her eyes after Sakura left. She continued to chop vegetables with more energy, finishing at a rapid pace.

x X x

Later that morning, when there was full daylight, everyone ate the breakfast soup that Hinata made, in which everyone made comments on how delicious it was. Naruto, in particular, said that it was better than ramen. The comment made Hinata blush and smile, knowing his affection toward his favorite food.

Then the first set of job duties came in the day. Kiba and Hinata agreed to get supplies to repair some of the damaged floors. When they returned, everyone would help with the repairs. Ino and Sakura opted to clean up the rooms occupied the previous night. Considering that only four rooms – counting the ones they slept in – had any occupation, this was the easiest task.

That left one final assignment – cleaning the lobby. The lobby was the largest room in the hotel, and was the first thing anyone saw when they entered. A bad impression meant that customers would leave before making a reservation.

At least that's what Higoku explained to everyone the previous night.

Since they didn't have a choice in the matter, Naruto, Shikamaru, and Tenten did this chore, and spent an hour working on it.

"If I still had chakra, this would've been finished in no time," Naruto said as he dropped a duster in a bucket.

"What makes you say—" Tenten said as she stepped away from the window. However, she stopped her words when she realized the obvious. "Oh, that's right. Shadow clones."

"Yeah," Naruto said. "Everyone can relax or train."

"We can't access chakra anymore," Shikamaru said as he plopped on the chair behind the lobby desk. "It's too troublesome to think about our old skills."

"Speak for yourselves," Tenten said with a smile as she balled up the cloth she used the clean the windows and tossed it into the bucket across the room. "I still have most of my abilities. I just don't have weapons."

"Maybe we can find some for you," Shikamaru said with a frown.

"Fights happen a lot in heaven apparently," Naruto added.

"So what's next on the list of tasks," Tenten asked as she leaned against a pillar.

"We can't do anything right now," Shikamaru said as he glanced at the list. He scrunched his face as he continued, "We need Hinata and Kiba to come back with the supplies."

"Considering how much they had to get," Tenten responded, "it could take another hour."

"I'll go help Sakura and Ino with the rooms," Naruto said with a smile. "The faster we work, the less we have to do later."

"You do that," Shikamaru said as Tenten raised her eyebrow at Naruto. "I'm taking a nap until they return."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Naruto said as he narrowed his eyes. "What if a guest arrives?"

"It's still morning," Tenten said as she glanced at a clock on the wall. "I doubt it if—"

She stopped talking when two men and one woman entered the hotel. The shorter man and the woman spoke among themselves while the taller man approached the former shinobi.

"Excuse me," the taller man said with a yawn. "We need some rest. Do you have any vacancies available?"

"Sure we do," Shikamaru said as he opened a book. Flipping through the pages, he added, "How many rooms do you want?"

"Would two rooms work?" the taller man asked his companions. The shorter man shrugged as the woman nodded her head in agreement, leaning against a pillar next to Tenten. The taller man turned back to Shikamaru and said, "Yes, two rooms will do."

"Is there anything else we can do for you?" Tenten asked.

"Actually," the woman said with a calm tone. She pulled out a knife underneath her cloak as did the taller man. The taller man put the tip of the knife near Tenten's neck.

"What the hell are you doing?" Naruto yelled as the taller man held her knife near Tenten. He rushed toward Tenten to knock the knife away, but the shorter man pulled out a sword and pressed it on the other side of the kunoichi's neck.

"We want your money," the woman said in a serious voice as she twirled the knife in her hand. "Give us that, and we won't hurt anyone. It's that simple."

"We don't want any trouble," the taller man said as he pressed the knife close to Tenten's neck. As he drew some blood, he added, "But if we don't get what we want, we will kill all of you right here, and take what we want anyway."

"It'd be a shame to do that," the shorter man added with a smirk. "We don't want to kill anyone, but we'll do what we have to do."

"Alright," Shikamaru said with false hesitation as a slight smirk formed on his face. He glanced behind the bandits as he said. "You have a deal. The money is in the back. Give me a few minutes and you'll be on your way."

"We're going with you," the woman said as the taller man gripped Tenten's arm. "No funny business or your friend loses his—"

She never finished her sentence as a piece of wood collided with the side of her head.

The shorter man met the same fate as they dropped to the floor, unconscious.

Behind the unconscious men, holding broken wood floorboards were Kiba and Hinata.

"What!" the man holding Tenten yelled. "How did you—"

His words halted when Ino placed a kitchen knife to his throat. Sakura was also behind him with a knife to his back.

"Drop the knife, and let Tenten go," Ino said as Naruto and Shikamaru grabbed the dropped knife and sword – respectively – on the floor, "or I'll slice your throat open."

"We won't hesitate to kill your friends either," Kiba added, swinging the floorboard for good measure.

The conscious robber prepared to drop the knife, but without warning, he collapsed on the ground, writhing in pain. The pressure in the air around him increased. He realized that this came from the leaking reiatsu from all seven of the people.

"Who the hell are you," the robber said with a strained voice. "I can't stand. Are you people shinigami or something?"

"Get out," Naruto said a frown as the reiatsu flow continued to increase from his direction. "Don't ever come back here, or we'll kill you where you stand."

"We won't," the robber said as he found enough adrenaline to drag his two unconscious allies. .

"Is everyone okay?" Kiba asked as the tall man dragged out.

"Yeah, we're fine," Shikamaru muttered while Tenten massaged her neck.

"Is this place supposed to be heaven?" Ino said with a frown as Tenten glanced at the sword in her hand. "This feels more like hell."

"This place is not that much different than our world," Naruto said as he gripped the knife handle.

"We should get back to work," Tenten said as she looked at her reflection in the blade before tying it to her side. "Higoku won't be happy if the place is still a mess when he comes back."

"I'm sure he'll understand once he learns the hotel was nearly robbed," Sakura said with a frown.

As the group scattered around the hotel to finish their jobs, people in the area searched around for the source of a sudden spike in spiritual pressure.

x X x

Later that evening, Yoruichi and Soifon traveled on the streets of West Rukongai. Many people looked at them with odd looks. Perhaps they were not used to seeing women travel by themselves in such a dangerous area.

That, or perhaps because they dressed like shinigami. It was rare to see Shinigami beyond the twentieth section of any part of Rukongai. To see them in the fifth-eighth section rose quite a few eyebrows.

Perhaps they were on a mission to recruit a soul with great potential?

"Let's take a break Soifon," Yoruichi said with a wry smile. "We've been on our feet all day." When her lieutenant nodded, she glanced around the street until her eyes hit one place. "There's a pub over there. Let's drink some sake."

"But Yoruichi-sama," Soifon replied, "we shouldn't drink while on duty."

"Don't worry about it Soifon," she replied with a laugh. If General Yamamoto enforced that rule in Seireitei, thirty percent of the Gotei Thirteen would face disciplinary action. "We're gathering information about our targets. It would look out of place if we didn't drink something."

Soifon didn't buy the excuse from her captain, but she followed her inside the pub nevertheless.

As the two female shinigami entered, whispers spread around the place.

"What are women doing here at this time?"

"Are they shinigami?"

"I think the dark one is a Shihouin."

"They both look hot."

"I wonder if the shorter one is bisexual."

"Who cares? I'll do them anytime!"

Yoruichi smirked at the comments while Soifon clenched her fists and teeth as both of them sat on stools near the edge of the bar.

"What can I get for you ladies this evening?" the bartender asked them.

"Some sake," Yoruichi said. "Make it strong."

"Water is fine for me," Soifon said with a hesitant voice. The bartender raised an eyebrow as she added, "I'm not much of a drinker."

"Any interesting stories occur here lately?" Yoruichi asked the bartender while he took care of their orders.

"Recruiting potential shinigami?" the bartender asked. When Yoruichi nodded, he added, "I have one that may interest you."

"Please tell," Soifon said.

"There was an attempted robbery at the Taiken Inn not far from here."

"Taiken Inn?" Soifon said with a raised eyebrow. When the barkeeper nodded, she turned to Soifon and spoke in a whisper, "Isn't that where Haruki lived with his grandfather before he became a —"

Yoruichi cut her off with a nod as she kept her attention on the barkeeper.

"These bandits robbed several places in the past few days, even beat up some people trying to play hero," the barkeeper said as he gave Yoruichi a ceramic bottle and Soifon a clear glass filled with water. "However, they nearly got killed by seven people workers."

"Seven?" Yoruichi said as she took a sip from the ceramic bottle, thinking the number of people was not a coincidence.

"Guess it wasn't a lucky number for the bandits," Soifon added as she mimicked her captain by drinking from the glass of water.

"Yeah, four women and three men," the barkeeper said. This perked the interest of the two shinigami more, as it matched the description of the people they sought. "The bandits even lost their weapons and had to flee. I heard the strongest of them fainted after feeling a ton of reiatsu."

"Which way is it to the Taiken Inn?" Yoruichi said with a yawn as Soifon gave a few coins to the barkeeper. "It's getting late, and we can use some rest."

"It's down three streets south of here. Can't miss it," the barkeeper said. He leaned forward and whispered to the women. "If you're looking for new recruits, they might interest you Captain Shihouin."

"How did you know who I was?" Yoruichi said with a raised eyebrow as she leaned forward.

"I pay attention to what goes on in Seireitei," the barkeeper said. He stood up as he added, "Good luck with the new recruits."

"Thank you," Yoruichi said as she grabbed the sake bottle and walked away from the barstools as another customer took their place.

"Not so fast," a man said as he staggered toward the women as they approached the door. "You're shinigami, right? I want to fight you."

"We don't have time to fight you," Soifon said as she rubbed the temples on her forehead.

"Come on!" the man slurred as he shifted into a fighting stance. "Give me your best shot." Pointing to his chin, he added, "Right here."

Yoruichi and Soifon walked past him and walked toward the door.

"Aw, they must be weak," the man said as his hand reached for the butt of the shorter shinigami. "No way women that cute could be good shini—"

His words paused when Soifon caught his wrist before his hand could touch her.

Without saying a word, a loud crack resonated in the pub as she broke his wrist by bending it back suddenly, using only her hand.

"Try that again in my presence," Soifon said as the man yelled in pain. The volume of her voice dropped as she leaned closer to his ear, "and I'll rip out your nuts."

The men in the bar glanced away from the scene when Yoruichi and Soifon left the bar.

"Yeah," the barkeeper said to an elderly customer at the counter as whispers echoed across the bar. "They're definitely shinigami."

"The moron had it coming," the customer said with a smile as he looked at the drunk shaking his broken wrist. "I should get going too. My employees can beat up bandits, but they don't stand a chance against those women – even if it's seven on two."

"You just want to see those shinigami again," the barkeeper said with a deadpanned tone. "You can't fool me Higoku."

"That too," Higoku said with a lecherous grin as he walked out the establishment, hoping to beat the women to the inn.

x X x

That is the end of this chapter.

I'm considering rewriting the first two chapters, spreading it out over four chapters so it makes more sense. I also want the chapters to match the slower pace that this and the previous chapter took. I'll put that to a vote soon on my page, as a way of the readers to express their opinion.

I'm also contemplating adding an extra woman (or two) to the harem. However, I'm not sure which lady to add quite yet. Admittedly, the possibilities are endless. There's also the chance that I may not add any. (I like the women I have there as is.)

Of course, you can also state your thoughts about either of the cases in a review, but I prefer to have reviews focus on positive and/or constructive critique. (By my own admission, I feel iffy about this chapter.)

On a different note, I have zero shame promoting my other stories. I currently have another Naruto story called _The Legend Within: Rise of a Champion_. It's a Naru/Hina story that expands on elements of the canon storyline, while adding original ideas.

For those who like Fire Emblem, I want to point out my fic called _War of the Stones_. It focuses on _Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones_, while adding other characters from different Fire Emblem games such as _Radiant Dawn_, _Blazing Sword_, and _Genealogy of the Holy War_.

Next up is _Chapter 5: The Hornet Strikes_. Someone is crazy enough to challenge Soifon without his basic abilities. I wonder who ...

That's all for now. Did you review yet?

Have a good day (or evening!)


	5. The Hornet Strikes

It feels good to be back! I'll save the Author Note for the end of the chapter. For now, I'll remain silent so you can read the next chapter … now!

Chapter 5: The Hornet Strikes

After his new employees retired for the night, Higoku sat at the front desk, tallying the damages from the attempted robbery earlier in the day. Annoyed by the details of the event after his employees told him the situation, he left for a bar to get a drink before doing any clerical work, needing to walk around to clear his mind.

While partaking in a few drinks of sake, he was surprised that so many patrons learned about his employees and their stand against the robbers at the hotel. One patron even offered to have them join a militia to help protect the area. Of course, he wouldn't tell them about the offer. He preferred to keep his new hired help.

He also realized something was wrong whenever he came near the hotel. In the past two days, he started to feel sick. He hadn't felt that way since before his grandson left for the Shinigami academy. Like his grandson, he realized that at least one of them had a source of excessive reiatsu.

It was a matter of time before shinigami from Seireitei began to search for them.

However, he didn't expect them to appear so soon.

He also didn't expect a captain and a lieutenant to handle the search, especially a captain with high great standing as Yoruichi Shihouin. He remembered his grandson speaking about the captain during his last visit. He practically gushed over the woman.

His thoughts shifted to the brief encounter with the female shinigami at the pub, knowing that they sought his employees. As he released a cough from his throat, he knew they learned the location of the inn, and that they would arrive at any moment.

Higoku shook his head, knowing that the shinigami would take them to Seireitei, either by making a deal with them, or if they refuse to cooperate, by force. The fact that the two whom arrived were a captain and a lieutenant meant they were more than prepared for the latter.

The blurred memory of the small lieutenant crushing a man's wrist with minimal effort didn't ease his mind. His workers could fight against simple thugs, but he didn't believe they stood a chance against high ranking shinigami.

Glancing at the sum of the repair costs, he groaned in frustration and placed the sheet away in the desk. Perhaps it was more prudent to let them go to Seireitei if they continued to fight, as he knew there would be a dumb challenger or two that would wreck the building for a good match.

Then again, good workers are hard to find, especially in the outskirts of Rukongai.

Realizing it was close to midnight, he walked away from the desk, carrying a large wooden board in his hands to barricade the front door. Before he reached it, two female shinigami entered the lobby.

The same two that he saw at the drinking establishment earlier that night.

"Good evening ladies," Higoku said as he placed the board near the wall. "I was about to close the front desk for the night. Do you need a room to stay for the—"

"No need for the business introduction," Yoruichi said while Soifon stood with a neutral stance. After a short bow, she continued, "How is everything Taiken-san?"

"I'm well Captain," Higoku replied with a bow of his own, albeit with another cough escaping his lips. "Do you know a shinigami named Haruki Taiken? He's my grandson, and I haven't seen him in—"

"Oh, you're his grandfather? " Yoruichi said as the three walked to the desk. "He told me a lot about you. He's doing great. His division has placed him on several high profile missions." She smiled as she added, "He's making quite a name for himself. There are a few captains interested in making him a high-ranking seated officer, possibly a lieutenant."

"I'm not surprised," Higoku said with a smile. "The boy takes after my daughter."

"Now let's talk business," Yoruichi said as she lowered her eyes and placed her hand on her hip. "I assume you already know why we traveled here."

"Yes," Higoku said as he sat behind his desk, glancing at the three rooms behind the stairs. He coughed and returned his sight to the female shinigami. "They're sleeping right now. Can you talk to them in the morning?"

"I have no issue with that," Yoruichi said with a soft nod.

"We learned about a bandit attack and how they prevented a robbery in this inn," Soifon said as she glanced around the area, noting some of the damaged areas that needed repairs in the lobby. "Did you observe anything?"

"Sorry," Higoku said with another cough. "I wasn't here when the incident happened, but as you can see, they did quite a number. There was also another fight in the market. I believe they were responsible for it before I hired them."

"Based on that cough," Yoruichi said as she leaned toward Higoku, "I'd say their reiatsu is affecting your health." After Higoku nodded several times, she continued, "You understand we have to take them for the same reason the Gotei Thirteen took Haruki."

"Teach them how to control their reiatsu?" Higoku asked. As Yoruichi and Soifon nodded at the same time, he gazed on the ground and mumbled, "I figured as much." Lifting his head up, he said to both women, "Guess I'll have to hire help again. I only had them for one full day too ..."

"It's for their own good," Soifon said as she folded her arms in front of her while Higoku coughed. "Besides, their presence affects your health in a negative way. At this rate, they'll kill you if they don't control their reiatsu."

"You can stay in room 2-8 for the night," he said as he handed over a key. Brushing back his hair, he added, "It's the best room I have available. It has it's own personal bath and a great view of the area."

"We don't need the best room," Yoruichi said as Higoku walked back toward the main entrance. "Any room will do."

"I insist that a captain of the Gotei Thirteen and her lieutenant get the best room in the place for free." Higoku said with a smile as he placed the board behind the entrance, effectively locking in any stragglers.

"Fine, but at least let us pay for it," Yoruichi said as she noticed the damaged areas of the lobby as Higoku walked back to the desk. "Or better yet, Seireitei will pay for it, since this is part of the mission."

"Thank you so much!" Higoku said with a wide grin as Soifon emitted a soft groan. Higoku knew that Seireitei was loaded with funding, and paying for a room was no problem. However, Soifon knew that this meant more unwanted visits from the financial department about fiscal restraint.

Higoku pulled the registry out his desk as the two shinigami went to their room. However, after having another coughing fit that forced him to keel over in pain, Higoku closed the registry without writing their name, opting to lie down in his room.

x X x

The following morning, Yoruichi awoke in the luxurious room she shared with Soifon. As she glanced outside the window, she realized that daybreak was beginning to approach. With a yawn, she slipped out of a futon, and approached her lieutenant, who slept without making any movements or noises.

"Soifon," Yoruichi whispered. After shaking her gently and watching the lieutenant of the second division opened one eye, she continued, "I'm going to contact Seireitei and then ask Higoku to bring everyone together. I want you to get ready."

"Yes Yoruichi-sama," Soifon said in a whisper as she turned over. "May I take a bath first? Didn't get a chance to take one last night, and I want to be presentable."

"Go ahead," Yoruichi said. "I'll be back in a moment to take my own. I need to get in contact with Seireitei."

Soifon gave an affirmative nod to her captain as Yoruichi walked out the room and upstairs to the roof of the building, carrying a handheld communication device.

Unfortunately, the said device had a limited range outside of Seireitei, sometimes making it useless. Kisuke said he based it on an invention on earth that allowed people to talk from distances called telephones, but this allowed communication without wires. It could be a useful tool in Seireitei for the long term, but he had to fix some of the kinks before that could happen.

Placing the portable communication device back in her hakama, Yoruichi prepared to use the second, and currently more reliable method for long distance communication.

She summoned a hell butterfly to deliver a message to Seireitei, informing them that they found the targets and would bring them back before nightfall. Unfortunately, she had to stay and wait for a reply from one of the other captains.

As she watched the light from the sun become stronger, she heard a faint scream from the downstairs. Yoruichi wondered what happened, but before she could rush downstairs, another hell butterfly returned with a message from Commander Yamamoto. It stated that most of the captains will gather later this evening to discuss the situation, and to bring the target to the meeting.

With that message in mind, she returned downstairs to take her own bath, then to find Higoku. Based on the stories his grandson told her, he wouldn't be surprised if he was awake already.

x X x

The bright morning sun awakened Naruto, as he was the unfortunate one to sleep near the window that night. As he glanced at Shikamaru and Kiba sleeping, he crept to the room exit without making a sound. Apparently, his basic stealth skills have not gone to waste. At least when he chose to apply them.

Knowing that today would be a long day for chores, he went to the utility closet on the second floor to get an early start on the day. As he gathered the cleaning materials, he heard the sound of quiet footsteps outside of the hall.

Glancing outside the closet, he didn't see anyone roaming the halls. Perplexed, he returned to the first floor and glanced at the registry, revealing all the occupied rooms in the building. As he expected, no new occupants entered overnight. As he grabbed the second floor master key, he thought this was good for him, as he could get an early start on cleaning the unoccupied rooms on the second floor, which happened to be all of them.

After quickly cleaning the first two rooms on the northern side of the second floor, Naruto entered the last room in the hall, only to see something he did not expect at all.

Apparently, Soifon never expected someone to walk in on her as she dressed either.

"Pervert!" Soifon screamed as she reached down to grab what appeared to be a sword, nearly releasing the towel that covered everything from her chest to the lower half of her thigh.

"I'm sorry!" Naruto stammered as he stumbled backward, glancing away from the woman. "I didn't know the room was occupied!"

"Then leave!" Soifon yelled as she adjusted the towel around her with her free hand while he exited the room.

Naruto closed the door behind him, only to notice Soifon's sword pierce the door, missing the edge of his nose by a mere centimeter. As his face paled, he searched the immediate surroundings, only to see Shikamaru, Hinata, and Tenten climbing the stairs, much to his relief.

"I heard a scream," Shikamaru said with a yawn as he reached the top step on the second floor. "Is everything okay Naruto?"

"Who did registry list last night?" Naruto asked, evading the question as he tensed his teeth. To his dismay, Kiba came up the stairs next, followed by Sakura and Ino.

"I think Higoku-san does that at night," Tenten replied with a light yawn. "Why you ask? And what caused the scream?"

"There was a room on the second floor occupied that was listed as unoccupied," Naruto said with a frown. He glanced at the door and saw the blade of the sword enter the room again. "I walked in on a female guest getting dressed."

"Well, that explains the shriek," Kiba said as Hinata frowned. With a grin, he added, "Did you like what you saw?"

"She nearly killed me!" Naruto said while Sakura and Ino both slapped Kiba behind his head. Tenten rolled her eyes as Hinata sighed at the antics of her shinobi teammate.

"If that's all that happened," Shikamaru said with another yawn as he walked toward the stairs, "I'm going back to sleep. I don't have to work for another thirty minutes." As he walked downstairs, he added, "Try not to peep on any other guests Naruto."

"I'm not a peeping tom like ero-sennin!" Naruto yelled as he leaned over the second floor railing.

"I'll check on our guest later after things calm down," Hinata said with a slight yawn as she went back downstairs. When everyone nodded in agreement, Naruto went to the southern end of the floor to continue cleaning as everyone else returned to the rooms downstairs.

"Naruto," Sakura said as walked back up the stairs, with a devious smile on her face. "How did she look, compared to me?"

"Don't know," Naruto said with a shrug. "She had a towel on, so I didn't see much." With a laugh, he added, "For a short woman, she had nice legs."

"So my legs aren't nice?" Sakura said with a frown. Before Naruto could respond, she punched him in the arm, causing him to fall on the ground.

"What did I say?" Naruto said as he watched Sakura walk down the staircase.

x X x

Thirty minutes after "the incident," Higoku gathered the former shinobi at the lobby, although he had to drag Shikamaru out the bed. Everyone was perplexed, as he gave them the lists of tasks last night. Why gather everyone again first thing in the morning, when they could be working instead?

Near the front desk, they noticed Soifon standing near the desk, wearing something similar to the hakama and kosode that Kisuke and Yoruichi wore when they sent them to Rukongai. Naruto in particular, glanced away while the woman notably gave him an icy stare while her facial expressions remained neutral to the rest of the group.

"I guess you're wondering why I gathered everyone here?" Higoku said. "I must say that in my time, I've never seen such—"

"I didn't mean to peek on her boss!" Naruto said, interrupting the words of the old man. As the woman glared at the blond, he turned to her and added, "It was an accident! I didn't know the room was occupied and that she was getting dressed." He dropped to his knees and added, "Please don't fire everyone for my mistake!"

"It's alright Naruto," Higoku said while Sakura and Hinata eyed the woman carefully. As Soifon snapped her head to the owner, he added, "Actually, that scenario is my fault. I forgot ..." His words faded away as he went into another coughing episode. As everyone looked at the old man with concern, he straightened his back as he said, "I forgot to add the two ladies to the registry last night."

"You got to see two women naked?" Kiba said in a low tone Naruto. Punching his arm, he added, "You're one lucky bastard!"

"There was a second woman?" Sakura said through her teeth as she punched Naruto much harder in his other arm. "I thought you said there was only one!"

Hinata glanced at the woman, before she looked down at herself. Although she held a neutral expression, she felt she had a more feminine body the woman that stood before them.

Or Sakura for that matter as she glanced at the pink-haired woman's antics through the corner of her eye.

"I only saw one woman in the room," Naruto said through his teeth as everyone but Hinata raised their eyebrows in surprise at Sakura's reaction. "And she was wearing a towel! I didn't see anything that I shouldn't—"

"I'm not here to discuss that situation," Soifon said as he interrupted the boys, "I'm here on business with my captain."

"Captain?" Tenten said. "Are you a shinigami too?"

"She is," a voice from upstairs said. As everyone looked at the woman descending the staircase, they recognized her.

"You!" Naruto screeched. "You're the woman that sent us to this hellhole in the first place!"

"It's nice to see you again Naruto—" Yoruichi said with a smile as she walked toward the group, which only served to agitate the blond further.

"This isn't heaven!" Naruto continued with his rant. The volume of his voice grew as he continued "This area is a piece of crap! There are bandits robbing businesses! Merchants trying to cheat customers! People willing to kill children! That's the kind of shit that happens in hell!"

"I apologize," Yoruichi said. "I thought that spirits with your spiritual abilities would end up closer to Seireitei. This area of Rukongai is what most people would consider 'purgatory'."

"I figured as much," Shikamaru said as he placed his fingers in a thinking pose. He figured that while they were shinobi, they weren't likely going to heaven after killing a few people. He didn't believe everyone would end up in hell, because unlike other shinobi, they didn't enjoy killing an opponent or target, and only did so as a last resort. Landing in this part of "heaven" made some sense.

"So what brings you to this part of town," Ino asked, "And where's the guy that was with you before?"

"Kisuke had orders in Seireitei," Yoruichi said as she folded her arms. Extending her hand out toward the woman, she continued, "This is my lieutenant, Soifon."

"Yeah," Naruto said in a sheepish tone. "I met her earlier this morning."

"Unfortunately," Soifon said with a frown as the icy stare returned to her eyes.

"To answer your other question Ino," Yoruichi said, "I came here to give everyone an offer."

"What kind of offer?" Sakura asked as Higoku rolled his eyes, knowing what came next.

"To be frank," Yoruichi said as she sat on the desk, which surprised everyone except Soifon. "Everyone learned about your high levels of reiatsu. My fellow captains want to make you guys official shinigami so you can keep that power under control and perhaps develop them."

"Why can't you teach us how to control that power now?" Kiba asked. "Is it really necessary to become shinigami to do that?"

"Yes," Yoruichi responded. "Excessive reiatsu can make a spirit with low reiatsu sick." Taking a quick glance at Higoku, she added, "Over extended periods of time, uncontrolled reiatsu can kill a spirit. The only proper way to learn how to control such reiatsu is through the academy at Seireitei, and it takes a few years of proper training." She turned to Kiba and added, "That's why I can't just give everyone a crash course and leave."

"You mean we have to go to school?" Shikamaru mumbled. "This is too troublesome."

"Although it's not mandatory to graduate from the academy," Soifon said as she turned her serious gaze toward Shikamaru. "You must control your reiatsu before it hurts someone or worse."

"Or someone else uses it for their own benefit," Yoruichi added.

"I can learn how to control my power without help from anyone," Naruto said with a feral smile, causing several eyebrows to raise in the room. While the shinobi weren't surprised by his statement, the other three people certainly were. " Everyone is already afraid of us in this part of town after only two days! I doubt that anyone can beat us."

The expression on the faces of the other former shinobi revealed otherwise. None of them brought their full repertoire of skills in the original world.

It didn't help matters when Soifon stepped toward Naruto.

"You were a shinobi?" Soifon said with a dismissive attitude. "Based on our ... encounter this morning, I could've killed you on the spot if I wanted to."

"That's because I didn't want to walk in on you," Naruto said as he clenched his fist. "Not that you have much to look at in the first place." Soifon narrowed her eyes at the blond while she maintained her composure while he continued, "If you were an enemy attacking me, I could defeat you in seconds!"

"For a shinobi, you certainly talk a lot," Soifon said with yawn, which agitated Naruto. "It's not a surprise you're dead. Those who talk the most in a profession that involves secrecy are usually the first to die."

"Take that back!" Sakura yelled at the short lieutenant while Yoruichi rubbed her temples in frustration. As everyone in the room turned to the pink-haired woman, she clenched her fist as she lowered her voice. "He's one of the best shinobi from our village! He sacrificed himself to save our village on numerous occasions!"

"Many people have underestimated him, " Shikamaru added, albeit with a yawn while the remaining shinobi nodded in agreement. "Each time, they paid the price."

"I should know," Kiba muttered under his breath. "I learned that from first hand experience."

"I'll make a deal with you," Soifon said with a neutral face to Naruto, hiding her annoyance with the other people in the room. "Let's have a spar right now. If you defeat me, I'll let you do whatever you please." She released a wicked grin as she added, "Of course, if you can't beat me, you have to go with us to Seireitei without question or complaint."

"You're on!" the blond said as he shifted his foot into a battle stance. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki." He threw a couple of punches in the air. "I don't back down from a challenge from anyone!"

"You plan on going into battle without knowing how your opponent fights?" Soifon said as she shifted in her own battle stance. As everyone stepped back away from the lobby, she added, "Such unusual tactics from one who held an occupation based on stealth and intelligence."

"I'll show you who can fight!" Naruto said as he charged in directly as he attempted to strike Soifon down with a reverse punch.

To his surprise, his fist struck nothing but the vacant space where his opponent once stood.

"Where did she—" Naruto said as he searched the lobby for his opponent. He saw her a few steps from his left, only for her to vanish again.

Yoruichi shook her head as she leaped off the desk. She knew the fight was over the moment her lieutenant disappeared the second time.

Soifon appeared behind him.

At his throat was her zanpakutou in it's sealed form.

The match was over.

"What happened to defeating me in seconds," Soifon whispered in his ear as she pressed the blade to his throat. Naruto grinded his teeth as she added, "If this were a real fight, you'd be dead."

Sakura gasped under breath while Kiba's eye twitched. Everyone knew Naruto was strong, even without his shinobi abilities, and wouldn't be defeated so easily. Out of pure habit, they and the other shinobi expected a clone to vanish in vapors while the real Naruto appeared from elsewhere.

Except that he no longer held that skill.

"If this was a serious battle," Naruto countered under his breath, feeling the edge of the blade against his skin. "I wouldn't let you stay armed with a sword."

"You don't have bad form for a plus," Soifon said as she glanced at the clock in the room, ignoring the comment Naruto said. Lowering her voice, she added, "but it only took three seconds to defeat you, and I'm barely using one percent of my power." As Naruto gazed down on the floor in shock, she added in a whisper, "In your past life, you may have been a great warrior. Now, you're just a weak spirit that can't provide a challenge to a rookie shinigami, let alone a lieutenant."

Removing the blade from his throat, Naruto thought about how one-sided the fight was. If she fought him on his level, or if he had his skills, it'd be an even match. He defeated opponents that were more powerful than the woman looking down on him. Yet, there were no excuses.

He was defeated.

Soifon put a hand up, interrupting whatever counter argument he prepared.

"Become a shinigami," Soifon said as she walked away, "and perhaps someday you'll stand a chance in a fight against me."

"Fine," Naruto said as he massaged his throat as he dropped to his knees. As he turned to face her, he added, "Don't worry, I don't go back on my word. I'll go to this academy as our deal states."

"Looks like I have to go to the academy with you. Can't have you embarrassing yourself like you did at the ninja academy." Kiba said with a laugh, which caused Naruto to frown slightly.

"I'll go too," Hinata said as she glanced at Naruto who stood up with ease, then Sakura, who glanced at Naruto. "This could be a chance to regain our old skills."

"Same here," Sakura said as she returned the glance that Hinata gave her. She turned to Naruto and added, "Someone has to keep you in line and make sure you don't do anything stupid."

"Like defacing a local landmark," Kiba added, which caused Hinata to smile and Naruto to smirk. "Or having most of the instructors chase you around the town afterward."

"That was some of my best work too," Naruto said.

"Nevermind that," Ino said with enthusiasm as she ignored Naruto and glanced at Soifon. "I want to learn what she did! We'd be able to kick ass with no problem with that kind of ability!"

"Do we learn how to do that in the academy?" Tenten asked.

"Shunpo is one of the basics that every shinigami learns at the academy," Yoruichi said with a smile. "It's one of the things you can do once you control your reiatsu."

"Okay, I'm in," Tenten added. "It will be like reliving the ninja academy again."

"Well, that's six," Soifon said as she and Yoruichi turned toward the only person that didn't say anything about joining. "There's only one left to make a decision."

"Looks like I have to go to school in death as well," Shikamaru said as he leaned against a wall while everyone focused their attention on him. "This isn't what I had in mind, but I can't leave my friends behind."

"Well, looks like I have to get my help wanted sign out the closet," Higoku said with a sigh as his now former workers looked at him. "My daughter and grandson went through the academy. Trust me, you'll have fun."

"Gather your possessions," Yoruichi said with a serious tone. "We're leaving to Seireitei in an hour. It will take a full day to walk there. There's other people that want to meet you as well."

"People want to meet us," Hinata said in a whisper.

"Everyone already knows about you," Yoruichi said. "If anything, your reiatsu level alone means that you'll likely be regarded as top students at the academy."

Naruto smiled at that notion as everyone retreated to their room. At least in death, he won't be a dead last.

His eye glanced toward Soifon again, who in return, gave him another icy stare. In the back of his mind, when he receives the shinigami training, he'll challenge her again in a rematch and beat her next time.

It certainly didn't matter that she was a high-ranking officer already.

x X x

That ends the fifth chapter of this story.

I must explain my hiatus again. (Since I took it down to give a proper update.) It took me over two months, and several setbacks, but I finally got a new monitor (one with an LCD screen), along with a new keyboard. I need to get used to the routine of writing on a regular basis, but barring health issues, I shouldn't need to go on an extended hiatus again.

I also considered rewriting this story from scratch (mainly with new plot developments from both Bleach and Naruto), but I'll go with the flow of the original direction of the story.

In _Chapter 6: Welcome to Seireitei_, our former shinobi enter the walls where shinigami reside, officially register for the academy, and speak with some of the captains. In addition, some familiar (and perhaps popular) shinigami shall make their debut.

As usual, I ask that if possible, you give honest and fair critique for the chapter. That said, I hope you enjoy the rest of your day or night, depending on the time you are reading this story.


	6. Welcome to Seireitei

Author's note:

It seems several readers had an issue in the previous chapter with Naruto being ineffective against Soifon in their fight. I expected this reaction; hence, I prepared this notice for the start of this chapter.

At this moment in the story, Naruto (or anyone else) has _zero_ chakra, nor does have the Kyuubi to loan him some. (Scenes back in Chapter 2 prove this.) That eliminates _all_ of his tactics that involve ninjutsu. (E.g.: Shadow clones and their multiple uses, all forms of Rasengan, Henge for deceptive tactics, etc.) Although he has a high amount of reiatsu (proven also in Chapter 2 and Chapter 4, with a clear reference in the upcoming chapter), he doesn't know how to fully control or use it.

He does maintain decent taijutsu ability, has a creative mind and uses good speed, but Soifon negated those advantages with the use of flash steps. It's a difficult – or impossible – chore to use physical force (i.e. taijutsu) on a target that is puzzling to detect. Creativity is somewhat ineffective if you don't know what your opponent is capable of accomplishing. (Not to mention he doesn't have "the tools for his creativity.") Good speed becomes useless if your opponent can out run you. Shunpo, which grants the ability of the user to cover several feet in an instant, gives that effect.

There are other ways that Soifon could have defeated a _chakra-less_ Naruto. She could've used kido to bind him in place. If she released Suzumebachi, Naruto would be "dead in two strikes." Not that it matters, as she never released her shikai in that battle, and the Gotei Thirteen would have a serious issue if one of the shinobi arrived dead.

At this moment in the story, Naruto (or any of the other former shinobi) without their skills from the original world can defeat thugs and thieves with relative ease. However, none of the shinobi – _without chakra and without the ability to control reiatsu_ – stands a chance against a capable shinigami or hollow. The advantage in a battle between a shinigami with captain potential and a dead shinobi with few abilities is greatly in favor of the shinigami. (The sole exception would be Rock Lee, but he's currently not in Seireitei.)

Besides, if Naruto (or any of the former shinobi) could stand up to Soifon (or any other high-ranking shinigami) without ninjutsu or shinigami abilities, this story would lose any merit.

Of course, this presents a dilemma. What is the solution to this chakra-less state that leaves the former shinobi vulnerable to proficient opponents that use reiatsu to their advantage?

I think the answer is obvious. Nevertheless, the solution begins with this chapter.

Enjoy the story!

_Second Edit Annexation_: There are still readers who still complain about Naruto being weak after the first edition of this chapter.

_Chapter 6: Welcome to Seireitei_

After they packed their meager possessions, received their paychecks, and said their goodbyes to Higoku, the former shinobi began the long walk back to Seireitei with Yoruichi and Soifon. It consisted of few complaints, all of which came from Shikamaru, often about the long walk. The former shinobi also asked several questions, which Yoruichi answered in detail, until they reached the western gate of Seireitei.

"Hold on a second," the guardian at the gate said as he stopped the group of shinobi. "Who are you, and what is your reason for coming here?"

"They're with me Jidanbou," Yoruichi responded as she stepped forward with the group. "I was sent to find them earlier."

"Yoruichi-sama," Jidanbou said as he recognized the leader of the Shihouin clan. As he immediately opened the gate, he added, "I already received the word from Captain Yamamoto."

"How much power does she have here?" Kiba whispered to Hinata as he arched his eyebrow. Hinata remained silent, although the interaction at the gate reminded her of how people treated her because she was the heir of the Hyuuga clan back in Konoha.

"Please, Yoruichi is fine," the captain of the second division said with a grin as everyone passed through the gate. "And what can I say? They weren't that hard to find."

"We accomplished our objective with efficiency," Soifon said to Jidanbou when she passed through the gate. Waving her hand, she added, "That's what matters in the end."

Sakura glanced back at Soifon as she heard the statement. As she returned her attention to Yoruichi, she noted that what the lieutenant said is the same statement she heard many times in the ninja academy as a child, although she disagreed with it.

"We're here," Yoruichi said as she adjusted her captain haori. Moving her left hand in an arc, she added, "Welcome to Seireitei!"

"This place is huge!" Naruto said as he ran to the top step a staircase near the gate entrance to get a better view of the city. "Come up here! You must see the view!"

He glanced at the towers and buildings throughout the enclosed area. As Ino, Sakura, and Kiba joined him to observe the city, they noticed many people traveling around the place, many dressed in the black hakama and kosode that Yoruichi and Soifon wore, albeit with a variation of designs and styles.

"How many shinigami are in this place?" Sakura shouted to Yoruichi. "This place is twice the size of Konoha!"

"Approximately fifteen thousand," Yoruichi shouted back, which caused Shikamaru to glance at the woman and raise his eyebrow slightly. He knew the population of Konoha was at least thirty thousand people, two-thirds of which that were shinobi.

"The population in the world we oversee is increasing," Soifon added as she noticed the facial expressions on Shikamaru from the corner of her eye. "We need more shinigami, so all thirteen divisions are expanding to fit these needs."

"This place looks incredible," Tenten said as she scrutinized the area. "I can get used to this!" While the place didn't feature the aesthetic quality that Konoha held in its better days, it felt more alive than the shinobi village. Furthermore, it was a significant improvement over the Rukongai district they inhabited for the past two days.

"Before we continue," Yoruichi said as Naruto and everyone else descended from the stairs. "There are other tasks to manage first."

"Tasks," Shikamaru said with a yawn. "We've been walking all day. Can't we take a break?"

"Do you want a place to sleep tonight?" Soifon asked the lazy man as she spun her head toward him. When he nodded, she countered, "Then I suggest you shut up and listen."

"First, we must get you registered the shinigami academy," Yoruichi said. "Soifon will escort you there, then she will accompany you to the first division hall. Several of the other squad captains want to meet you."

"Not a problem Yoruichi!" Naruto said with a smile, being the first to reach the bottom of the staircase. "Let's get registered—"

"Please call her Captain Shihouin or Yoruichi-sama," Soifon interrupted in a calm manner, although her stare toward the blonde portrayed an unspoken threat. "In Seireitei, it's rude to call a captain of the Gotei Thirteen or a member of a noble house without a formal title."

"Isn't that a bit too much," Kiba whispered to Tenten, who merely nodded in agreement without saying a word. Aside from a few exceptions such as Hinata and Tsunade, he abhorred members of the elite class from Konoha due to the requirement of traditional greetings, especially those who demanded it.

"Naruto, please call me Yoruichi," the captain of the second division replied with a smile, which caused her lieutenant to twitch. As Hinata and Kiba smiled at that statement, Yoruichi added, "Titles shouldn't mean anything in Seireitei in the first place."

"Thanks Yoruichi," Naruto said as he straightened his back. He turned to Soifon and grinned.

"The shinigami academy will give you an official tour of the place before classes begin in a week," Soifon said with a neutral expression as she ignored Naruto's antics. "Now let's go before the academy offices close!" the woman said as she walked away from the group. "If you can't keep up, that's not my problem."

Naruto gave a pleading look to Yoruichi, who only shook her head and shrugged as she walked away in a different direction.

"Troublesome woman," Shikamaru muttered as the group followed Soifon. Apparently, he couldn't escape them in the afterlife either.

x X x

When they entered the unguarded main gates of the Shinigami Academy, the group noticed that the students didn't wear the black uniform that shinigami wore, but what appeared to be a traditional training uniform.

The white robe had the academy insignia on both sides of the chest. They also noticed that boys wore blue hakama, while women wore red. The lining on the sleeves on the kosode held the same color.

"Do we have to wear those all the time?" Ino whined as they approached the largest building in the area while she watched two students in uniform lay in the grass. She remembered that in the Konoha ninja academy, children wore what they wanted, although in other villages, the academy had a uniform the students wore.

She preferred to have the option to wear what she wanted.

"Yes, but you can modify them," Soifon said as they went through the main entrance of a hall while Ino let a sigh escape from her lips. "At least I think so. Not sure if the academy allows it since they changed the rules two years ago." Ino pouted upon hearing the doubtfulness in the lieutenant's words.

"This reminds me of the ninja academy," Sakura said as she glanced around the halls. There were several similarities to the two places. As they walked through the building, they noticed several classrooms, offices. However, unlike the ninja academy, the shinigami academy was not overflowing with young children. Most of the people attending the shinigami academy appeared to be either teenagers or adults.

The ninja academy also didn't have multiple training grounds. As they passed a few, the former shinobi noticed that most of the training areas were indoors, while a few outside ones were more spacious.

As they walked past one of the aforementioned outdoor training grounds, they saw two female students practicing through windows. One released a bolt of lighting from her hand and struck a target, leaving a scorching hole through a mark with a bull's eye target. The second student did the same, except she released a red ball of energy and obliterated the target.

"How did they do that?" Naruto exclaimed as he, Sakura and Hinata took a few steps toward the window of the indoor training ground to get a better observation of what the students did.

"That looked like ninjutsu," Sakura added as she watched the academy students hang another target while the rest of the gang joined them in watching the two students. "Or at least it definitely resembled ninjutsu."

"It's called kido," Soifon said, surprised they've used similar attacks in their world. "We use incantations to cast them." They watched the first girl say a few words before she released another lightning bolt, destroying the target again. "In the academy, there are two types: Hado and Bakudo. You'll learn how to both."

"Maybe we can use those instead of our old skills?" Tenten said to Ino with a softer voice as everyone walked away from the window, impressed with what everyone witnessed.

"Or maybe that's the key to regain our ninjutsu," Ino whispered back as Tenten nodded.

"Perhaps," Sakura responded as she heard the conversation between the girls as they continued walking around the halls of the academy. "We'll have to learn more."

x X x

After walking through the halls of the academy for several minutes, they reached the central area of the academy. The former shinobi noted that the area occupied several spacious offices.

"This is the Registration and Admissions office," Soifon said as she stopped at a door. She adjusted the badge on her left arm as she continued, "In theory, you only have enter this place twice. Once to officially enter the academy. Once when you graduate." She turned to Shikamaru and Naruto and added with a smirk, "Or when you flunk out." While Shikamaru did not care about the comment, Naruto grinded his teeth and balled his fist.

Just because she humiliated him in a fight doesn't mean he will flunk out the academy.

"Get inside," Soifon said as she opened the door. With a nod, each of the shinobi entered the office. Much to her relief, the office was empty, aside from four shinigami managing minor responsibilities in the office. With the new group of students starting classes in one week, she expected a hectic scenario. However, knowing the nature of inexperienced students at the academy, she wouldn't be surprised if many of them registered the day before classes began.

"Lieutenant Soifon?" one of the shinigami in the office said as he approached the woman. After a quick bow, he asked, "What brings you here? We don't have this year's list of potential graduates now, but if you wait until after classes begin, that information will be accessible to all the divisions—"

"I'm not here for that," Soifon said with a sigh. "I have orders to let these seven register for the academy."

"Ah," the second shinigami said as she adjusted her glasses while walking toward the group. "They must be the new students everyone is anticipating."

"They know about us already?" Ino whispered to Sakura while Soifon nodded at the woman. After her friend nodded in agreement, she released a smile. "We haven't been in Seireitei for an hour yet, and we're famous!"

"We must go through a few procedures," the first shinigami said to the students as he went in a cabinet and obtained several clipboards, while the second produced various papers and attached them to each clipboard.

"Paperwork," Shikamaru said with a groan. "Why am I not surprised?"

"First, we need you to fill out two forms," the male shinigami said as he and the second shinigami gave the clipboards to the former shinobi. "The first one is for official academy records, and the second one is an assessment test with no time limit."

"When we're done with that," the female shinigami said as she sat in a chair, "We'll test your reiatsu levels and physical stamina. If you make the cut, we'll assign you a dorm room and allow you to select classes on a weekly schedule."

"What happens if we don't make the cut?" Kiba asked, raising his eyebrow while everyone continued writing. With few exceptions, he remembered the ninja academy throwing out potential shinobi whom failed to make the cut.

"Under normal circumstances, we'd ask you to try out next year," the male shinigami said, which made Naruto cringe slightly. He remembered the repeated failures on the ninja academy exam. "However, since there is a increased need for shinigami, it's possible that we may ask to either take a remedial course, join the training barracks, or both first before we allow you admittance to the shinigami academy. Of course, this is provided that you have the necessary reiatsu requirement."

"Remedial courses? Training barracks?" Naruto said as he narrowed his eyes toward the clipboard, nearly dropping his pen on the ground. "What are those?"

"Remedial courses are classes for potential candidates who need to acquire the fundamental knowledge necessary to graduate and develop into a shinigami," the female shinigami said as she adjusted her glasses again.

"The training barracks are for applicants who lack the endurance or durability for the essential academy training," the male shinigami added.

"In other words," Shikamaru said as he stopped writing on his clipboard, "they're for people too dumb or frail to become students under normal circumstances."

"That's another way to say it," the female shinigami said with a shrug.

"I'll be back in a short while," Soifon said to the former shinobi as she stepped toward the door of the office. She turned her attention to the office workers as she added, "I must take them to the First Division Hall after you're done with them."

The office workers nodded as the lieutenant of the second division left the room.

x X x

After fifteen minutes of filling several pages of what seemed to be endless paper work, the former shinobi stood, awaiting the next part of the assessment.

"Before we begin the next part," the female shinigami said, "Which one of you is Tenten?" After the aforementioned girl stood up, she asked, "Why didn't you write a surname?"

"I rather not use it," Tenten replied with hard stare. While the former shinobi didn't seem surprised with her response, the female shinigami lowered her glasses and stared at the girl. "It's for personal reasons."

"For record purposes, we do need a last name," the male shinigami replied. "If you don't wish to use your real surname, please make one up."

"You'd be surprised how many students don't have a name at all," the female shinigami said. "More often than not, they adopt a new name."

"Give me a moment," Tenten said to the man. She turned to the group. "What can I use for my surname?"

Silence ensued the room for a moment, before Sakura spoke albeit with uncertainty.

"How about Morihana?"

"That's not bad," Tenten said with a smile while, Kiba slouched slightly, remembering Hana, his sister that he left behind with his death. She got on his nerves, but they cared for each other like any other siblings.

After repeating the name twice to make sure it worked, her smile grew wider as she took back the clipboard. Writing on a page attached to the clipboard, she turned to Sakura. "A Forest Flower. I like it. She turned to Sakura and added, "Thanks."

"Excellent," the female shinigami said as she handed the clipboards to his co-worker, whom placed them on a desk and went into a side door in the office. "Now, for the next part of the exam, we're going to test your reiatsu levels."

"How do you measure reiatsu?" Hinata said. In her mind, she compared reiatsu to chakra. The ninja academy didn't measure the amount of chakra a person produced. Then again, the ninja academy also had medical records to rely on to get an accurate assessment.

"We use a RDA for that," the woman said as she returned from the room with an odd device. When all the shinobi gave her a confused look, she added, "RDA stands for Reiatsu Detection Apparatus. It detects the amount of reiatsu a person has by simply touching them on the skin for ten seconds."

"That sounds interesting," Naruto mumbled. He was never interested in gadgets.

"Now, which one of you is Sakura Haruno?" the female shinigami said as she read the name from a clipboard. As Sakura stood and approached the female shinigami, the woman turned on the device. "Just stand still for ten seconds once I apply the device."

The woman placed the device on Sakura's back and a beep signified the start of the process. Initially, the number on the device started at zero, but the number increased as each second passed. When the ten seconds passed, another beep sounded as it ended the process.

Both Sakura and the female shinigami glanced at the number displayed on the device, the latter raising her eyebrow in surprise.

"A 960 reiatsu reading?" the woman said, a bit surprised. "That's unusually high."

"How so?" Sakura asked with some uneasiness. "Is that a bad thing?"

"If you were still in Rukongai and unable to control it, it'd be problematic to the health of those with low reiatsu," the female shinigami said, echoing the words that Yoruichi said back at the Taiken Inn. "However, only a handful shinigami have readings this high. Anything above 900 reiatsu is only seen in high ranking officers, usually third seat or higher."

Everyone gaped at Sakura, surprised that she had so much spiritual pressure. As a shinobi, it was basic knowledge that her chakra levels were average at best.

"Way to go Sakura!" Ino said with a smile.

As everyone had their reiatsu measured, similar results ensued. Hinata was next after Sakura. Her reiatsu reached a 1000 reading, which raised the eyebrows of both shinigami in the room. Kiba was next and he eclipsed that total slightly with a 1020 reading.

Tenten soon followed, but disappointment filled her body as she saw the 950 reading. However, the female shinigami assured her that such a reading was still unusually high and that it will grow as they trained to control their reiatsu.

Her mood improved as Shikamaru earned the same 950 rating that she did. However, the thought cross her mind that his reiatsu was a possible representation of how lazy as he was.

"The next person is," the female said as she grabbed the following clipboard and read a name, "Naruto Uzumaki." As Naruto walked toward the woman, he became anxious. He glanced at his friends, all whom measured with high reiatsu. As the device rested on his back and a beep sounded, his thoughts shifted to the one-sided fight that he had with Soifon, and her subsequent words.

"_You will become a legendary shinigami, Naruto Uzumaki_," he heard a feminine voice say. Confused, he glanced around the room, but didn't see anyone else, aside from his friends and the shinigami working inside the office.

"_That is our destiny_," the mysterious voice added.

Before Naruto could ask aloud where the voice was coming from, the next sound he heard was another beep, signifying that the machine finished its job.

"Incredible," the female shinigami said as her eyes widened in surprise. She glanced up at Naruto and said with a stammer, "Your reiatsu reading is 1840!"

"What?" Naruto said, surprised that his reiatsu level nearly doubled that of his companions. However, his comrades somehow, weren't surprised. As a Konoha shinobi, they knew he had more chakra than most experienced jounin. However, he also had Kyuubi sealed inside of him, which increased his chakra flow.

"Yes, your reiatsu reading is 1840," the female shinigami said as she adjusted her glasses. She knew that the RDA rarely broke down, and was ninety-nine percent accurate – give or take a few points. "That surpasses some of the Gotei Thirteen captains!" She glanced toward the former shinobi, wondering who – or what – they are.

"Maybe you should aim to be a captain Naruto," Kiba said with a grin as the blond walked toward them. "You couldn't become Hokage, but who said you can't be a captain?"

"Makes sense if you ask me," Ino said, as the female shinigami called her name last to measure her reiatsu. "Just give us some of the perks while you're up there."

"Maybe you're right," Naruto said as he sat with the group. He knew he wanted to become a Hokage so the villagers could give him respect. Then he remembered how everyone treated Yoruichi with respect. Lifting his chin, he grinned and said, "Captain Uzumaki does sounds nice."

"It's probably easier too," Shikamaru said as the familiar beep from the machine signified it began scanning the reiatsu reading for Ino. "There's only one Hokage at a time, but there are thirteen captains. That certainly increases the odds."

"How did you know that?" Kiba asked as she turned to the lazy man.

"When we entered Seireitei, Soifon said there are thirteen divisions," he responded with a shrug. As the second beep sounded in the room, he added, "I assume each division has a captain and a lieutenant." Sakura and Hinata nodded in agreement, as they remembered the vague conversation.

"So what was your reiatsu reading Ino," Tenten asked as the female blonde approached the group.

"Only 920," she muttered as she flopped in the chair. "Can't believe I scored the lowest."

"There's no time to sit down," the male shinigami said as he walked to the door, with one clipboard in his hand. "Please follow me so we can conduct the stamina evaluation of the assessment."

"Can we get some rest first?" Shikamaru said as he stretched his arms and released a yawn. "We walked from Rukongai since this morning to get here."

"Let me think about it," the male shinigami said as he placed his finger under his chin. He turned to Shikamaru before saying. "No."

x X x

The shinobi followed the male shinigami to one of the training rooms inside the building. There, they saw an open space with wooden floors. They stood behind the shinigami as he turned to speak to them.

"There are four parts to this assessment," the male shinigami said. "Over here, we're going to take in account your accuracy. We're going to ask you to throw these balls at ten targets approximately thirty feet away." He pointed in another direction and continued, "Over there, we will take into account your speed by handling some basic agility drills." He directed his hand toward another area of the training ground and added, "Near the punching bags, we will assess your strength." Finally, waving his hand around the gym he added, "For the last part, we will ask you to jog ten laps around the area to assess your stamina."

"Is that all?" Naruto said to Kiba as he leaned on a wall with his hands behind his head. "Iruka-sensei gave worse assessments back at the ninja academy." Kiba nodded his head in agreement.

"Okay, let's begin the first assessment of the exam," the male shinigami said as he turned to the group. To the slight surprise of the shinobi, the targets began to move in erratic patterns. "Who wants to go first?"

"I'll go first," Tenten said as a smirk formed on her face as the woman grabbed a rubber ball from the bucket.

"There are fifteen balls in the bucket," the male shinigami said. "Try to strike at least five of the targets. Striking the target in the center counts for two targets instead of one. You have one minute."

"I won't need fifteen balls," Tenten said as she locked her eyes on a target. "I'll only need ten."

"We'll see," the male shinigami said as she threw the ball, and struck it directly in the center. The male shinigami audibly scoffed, believing the woman was lucky to strike a bull's eye on her first shot.

True to her word, Tenten struck the remaining nine targets, all directly in the center. While the male shinigami was astonished with her accuracy, none of the former shinobi were surprised, as the woman was renowned in Konoha for her weapon accuracy.

"How did you do that," the male shinigami asked the woman as he marked down her perfect score of twenty. "No one ever did that in an assessment before."

"Experience," Tenten said as she walked back to the group.

Soon after, each shinobi took their turn. While none of the matched Tenten in accuracy, Hinata managed to knock down all ten targets as well using ten balls, missing the center of the target only twice for a score of eighteen. Sakura, Shikamaru, and Ino also struck down all ten targets, each of them needing an extra ball to do so. Sakura and Ino managed to strike six of the targets in the center, while Shikamaru only did so four times.

Naruto also managed to strike down all ten targets, but he needed two extra balls to accomplish the task, despite that he struck the center of the target five times. Kiba, on the other hand, was never a long-distance fighter. He did the worst out of the former shinobi, needing to use all fifteen balls. However, he managed to strike nine of the targets, five of which struck dead center.

x X x

"It's redundant to say as much, but all of you did an excellent job on the accuracy assessment," the male shinigami said as all of them walked to the open floor of the training ground. He pulled out a stopwatch from his kosode and continued, "The next part of the assessment is the agility drill." Pointing to the numbers on the floor, he added, "Each marker is numbered from one to six. You are to touch each marker on the floor in numerical order with one of your feet, as fast as you can."

"Sounds easy enough," Sakura said as she walked toward the first marker. Glancing at the markers on the floor, she added, "I'll go first this time."

"When I say go, you begin," the male shinigami said as the group looked at Sakura to see how to do the drill. Sakura shifted herself in a position so she can sprint on the word. As soon as the shinigami yelled go, she immediately sprinted forward to the second mark, leaning to her right in preparation to reach the third mark.

"This looks tougher than it sounds," Ino said as she watched Sakura touch the third mark and run to her right toward the fourth mark. She turned to Naruto. "How do you think she'll do?"

"She'll do well," Naruto said as he saw Sakura make a sharp turn toward the fifth mark after touching the fourth mark. "We'll all do well."

"Part of it is speed," Shikamaru said as he paid attention to Sakura's movement as she made her final turn toward the sixth marker. "But another aspect is changing direction at a moment's notice. In a battle, you may have to do the same."

As Sakura touched the final marker, she found herself running toward the group. She knelt down on one knee to rest for a moment.

"That's a good time," the male shinigami said as he glanced at Sakura. "14.80 seconds."

Kiba went after Sakura. Being used to changing directions rapidly in his attacks, it was no surprised to the shinobi that he scored a time of 12.74 seconds. However, it certainly surprised the shinigami, who noted that it broke the record for academy candidates. When Kiba asked who held the all time record, it surprised the former shinobi that one Yoruichi Shihouin held the record, who did the drill in 11.40 seconds.

Of course, she was the one that came up with the idea for the drill in the first place.

After Hinata finished with a time of 14.92 seconds, she felt discouraged. However, the shinigami noted that the average time for accepted applicants was eighteen and a half seconds, and, like the pink haired woman, did well.

Shikamaru went next. Rather than run at full speed, he focused his energy on quick and timely turns. To the astonishment of the shinigami, he had a time of 15.31 seconds with a lethargic effort.

However, Naruto, Ino, and Tenten took note of what Shikamaru did, and scored times of 13.21, 14.65, and 14.59, respectively.

"You kids are something else," the male shinigami said with raised eyebrows. "Your teachers will be impressed with your abilities."

x X x

"Two more parts to go," the shinigami said as he walked to an area with several punching bags. Holding one steady in his hand, he continued, "This is the easiest part of the assessment." Laying the clipboard on the floor, he threw a punch, making the bag sway slightly. As a number appeared on the side of the bag, he said, "Hit the bag as hard as you can with your hand. The number on the right measures the force used." As everyone glanced at the bag, he added, "You get three tries."

Shikamaru was the first one at the bag. He threw three punches at the bag, not bothering to follow through with them. Consequently, his punches only measured at 135, 138 and 141 newtons.

"That's about the academy average for men," the shinigami said while Kiba stepped to the punching bag after him. He glanced at the torpid man, surprised that he struck that high without much effort. He turned his focus back to Kiba, and unlike Shikamaru, he followed through on his punches. His strikes measured at 176, 189, and 186 newtons.

Not to be outdone by Kiba, Naruto went next after him. While his measured punches of 190, 184, and 188 newtons eclipsed Kiba slightly, he was slightly disappointed as he couldn't do much better.

"_Why are you holding back?_" the mysterious voice said again. As Naruto glanced around the room again, she added, "_You can't fool me. You have more power behind your strikes than this._"

Tenten stepped toward the bag, thinking about the taijutsu stances that Maito Gai taught her. Slipping into a stance, she struck the bag once, and stuck the bag again twice as it swung back toward her.

She cringed when she saw her first punch registered at 142 newtons, barely above the best effort Shikamaru offered. She seemed disappointed as her following punches measured at 149 and 153 newtons.

"Since force is reliant on a person's weight," he said as Tenten went back to the group. "It's expected that a woman will score lower than a man." Tenten turned her head toward the man and glowered at him as he added, "Please keep in mind that for female candidates, your score is quite good."

Hinata followed her. Rather than strike the bag with a closed fist, she opted to strike it with an open palm. The result was impressive, as her first strike registered at 155 newtons. She kept in rhythm with the bag, and struck the bag a second time, the strike registering at 162 newtons. However, her hand didn't hit the center of the bag cleanly, causing her final strike to register at only 145 newtons.

Ino took the lead from Hinata and tried to strike the bag with an open palm. However, the strike only registered at 132 newtons. Frustrated with the score, she struck the bag harder, but instead of hitting the center of the bag, she hit the outside, causing a score of 105 newtons. In her frustration, she closed her fist, stepped into the punch, and released a shriek as she hit the bag.

"174 newtons?" the shinigami said as he and Ino looked at the final score. She blushed slightly as she walked back to her friends, while Sakura approached the bag.

Sakura paid attention to the last punch Ino threw, and the form that Tenten and Hinata held with their strikes. Imitating the form, she exhaled loudly as she struck the punch, her follow through perfect.

"181 newtons?" the shinigami said as he wrote the score, surprised that a woman struck with that much force. Tenten smirked at him, knowing that a woman did as well as the men.

Sakura executed her second punch in the same exact manner, her follow through timed as the punching bag swung in her direction for 190 newtons, tying Naruto's best score. She clenched her teeth and struck the bag again, yelling "Cha!" as she released her final punch.

Her hit on the bag reached 201 newtons. Not to the surprise of the supervising shinigami, but he noted in his mind that was a record for female candidates.

"Remind me to never let Sakura punch me for any reason," Kiba said to Naruto as everyone nodded in agreement with the statement. Naruto in particular nodded with emphasis as he recalled several instances when he received many of those punches as genin teammates.

Those punches became exceedingly painful when Sakura learned to enhance them with chakra with lessons from Tsunade. However, to his luck, he hasn't felt her punch in a while.

x X x

As the former shinobi jogged around the training ground for the final part of the assessment, the supervising shinigami noted that they didn't seem to have many signs of fatigue. Even Shikamaru, who he deemed a sloth, didn't struggle.

He then focused his attention on Naruto, whom to his surprise, didn't seem tired at all. While the others at least showed signs of fatigue with deeper breaths, Naruto continued as if he went around his first lap, when it was really his last lap.

More disturbing to the shinigami, as everyone else stopped to recover his or her breath when the exercise, Naruto remained unfazed by fatigue.

He shook his head and wrote the notes on the last page of his clipboard. As he led the group back to the main office where Soifon stood waiting, he went to the side office. With help from the other workers inside the office, they paired together the results of the exam, and made a copy for each participant.

The original files went into folders, each one with a name of the individual.

The folded copies went in one medium-sized envelope, which the male shinigami took and handed to Soifon. When she took the envelope, she noted that it was for the captains, and that the contents were marked as "confidential."

She promptly placed it inside her kosode.

"It's probably no surprise to you, but all of you qualified for the academy," the female shinigami said as she came out the office. Handing each shinobi a key, she continued, "Those are the keys to your rooms in the dorms. The rooms you've been assigned to will be your living quarters for the duration at the academy. In addition, you will have five uniforms for the academy in each of your rooms. If you want more, you'll have to purchase them."

"Can we switch our room if we don't like where we live?" Shikamaru asked the woman.

"No," the female shinigami said. "While you share a suite with two other students, everyone has their own individual room."

"Cool!" Naruto said as he glanced at the key, noticing the number of his room. "I have room 402C."

"Looks like we're roommates!" Kiba said, showing his keys to Naruto, as it read 402A.

"Great," Shikamaru said as he glanced at his key. Not to his surprise, it read 402B. "Looks like I'm living with you guys again. Just don't make any noise while I'm sleeping, and we'll be okay."

"What rooms did everyone else get?" Sakura said to the other girls, understanding that they could be roommates. "I have room 409B."

"I'm in room 409C," Hinata said in a neutral tone with a smile toward. However, Sakura picked up on the fact the indigo-haired woman avoided eye contact with her. She knew Hinata wasn't exactly thrilled to share the same living quarters as her rival for the man they both loved.

"Looks like we won't be roommates Sakura," Ino said with a frown. "I have room 411B."

"At least you'll be my roommate," Tenten added with a grin. "I'm in room 411A."

"I wonder who our extra roommate will be," Hinata said as she turned toward Sakura.

"That's a good point," Sakura said as she agreed with her. "I hope we don't have a weirdo living with us."

"Same here," Ino and Tenten added at the same time. "No crazy roommates."

"Too late for that," Kiba said as he glanced at Naruto and Shikamaru with a smirk. "One awakes early in the morning to do who-knows-what, and the other we have to check to see if he's sleeping or dead."

"What!" Naruto yelled as he inched toward Kiba. "At least I don't whimper in my sleep like a dog!" Shikamaru merely nodded in agreement, much to the amusement of the girls.

"Now that you finished your registration," Soifon said after she cleared her throat to get the attention of the chatty group, "I want finish my orders and escort you to the First Division Hall."

The clamoring ceased as they followed Soifon out the room.

"Good luck with your studies and training," the female shinigami said with a smile as they left the room.

"As if they need it," the male shinigami said as the door to the office closed behind them. As he placed files away, he added, "All of them are among our best students this year."

x X x

After yet another short walk, Soifon and the former shinobi arrived at the First Division Hall, near the grounds of the Shinigami academy. Soifon entered the building first. However, much to their chagrin, she told them to wait outside for a few minutes.

"Okay, I'm done with you," Soifon said as she exited the building. "The captains are expecting you inside. Just don't embarrass yourselves in front of them."

"How do we get to our rooms afterward?" Naruto asked as he played with the keys in his hand. "We still don't know our way around the academy."

"Captain Shihouin probably arranged someone to guide you," she replied. After giving the group a short bow, she added as she turned around, "I must return to my division, so I will take my leave."

"And I thought my mom drove people nuts," Kiba said under his breath as Soifon walked away. "That woman is worse!"

"Relax Kiba," Naruto said with a smile as he clutched the handle to the sliding door to the hall. "At least we don't have to deal with her again."

"Unless she's an academy teacher," Shikamaru muttered.

Naruto slid the door completely open. To his surprise, he saw nine people standing around in an orderly fashion, all of them wearing a white haori. Directly in front of the group was an old man with a cane. For some reason, the man reminded Naruto of Hiruzen Sarutobi, the leader of Konoha before Oto and Suna staged the invasion during his first chuunin exam.

Then again, from his memory, the Third Hokage of Konoha didn't need a cane to stand. Yet, the man released a more powerful aura.

On the left side of the room, he recognized Yoruichi, and noted the other woman and the two men on the same side. On the other side of the room, four men stood attention.

"I welcome you all to Seireitei," The elderly man said after he tapped his staff on the ground. From their experience, the shinobi understood that such an action signified the start of a meeting. "I am Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryuusai. I am the captain of the first division and the Commander-General of the Gotei Thirteen." Captain Yamamoto then shifted his attention to his left. "The men over here are Captain Shinji Hirako of the Fifth Division, Captain Love Aikawa of the Seventh Division, Captain Kensei Muguruma of the Ninth Division, and Captain Jushiro Ukitake of the Thirteenth Division."

"To my right," Yamamoto continued, "is Captain Yoruichi Shihouin of the Second Division, Captain Retsu Unohana of the Fourth Division, Captain Ginrei Kuchiki of the Sixth Division, and Captain Shunsui Kyoraku of the Eighth Division."

Yoruichi smiled at the shinobi as Yamamoto said her name. Naruto was about to wave at her, but Sakura grabbed his hand before it could happen. This action, of course, made Hinata turn a slight shade of pink, thinking that Sakura would hold his hand so blatantly.

Especially in front of people that demanded respect, and didn't have to say a word.

Ino glanced at the Eighth division captain, surprised that he would wear a cheap looking haori over his captain uniform. She also had similar thoughts about the Seventh division captain, as he wore sunglasses indoors. At the same time, Kiba and Tenten remained quiet, understanding the authority and charisma the captains in the room disseminated.

"We're glad to be in your presence Commander-General Yamamoto," Shikamaru said with a bow as he stepped forward. Everyone followed his lead, understanding that he has the most experience with diplomacy. "I am Shikamaru Nara. Along with me to my right is Ino Yamanaka, Sakura Haruno, Naruto Uzumaki, Hinata Hyuuga, Kiba Inuzuka, and Tenten Morihana." Tenten let a smile appear on her face slightly, as the Nara remembered her newly acquired surname.

"Excuse me Commander-General," Sakura asked the older man in front, bowing in the process. "From my knowledge, I believed there were thirteen captains, yet I see only nine present. Am I wrong in that assessment?"

"To answer your question Sakura," Yamamoto replied with a neutral expression, "Although all the captains wanted to meet you, not all of them could attend this meeting due to prior commitments."

"I understand," Sakura responded with a bow. "We're grateful to be in your presence."

"First, we've received several reports about you," Yamamoto said. "One report came from Captain Shihouin and the third seat of her division, Kisuke Urahara about their experience in your realm and their version of events." As the shinobi glanced at Yoruichi, Yamamoto added, "However, we're interested in your side of the story as well."

"A few days before arriving here," Shikamaru said. "Everyone here was assigned on a mission to rescue Naruto, who sacrificed himself in exchange to keep our village safe from one of our prominent enemies."

Naruto gritted his teeth at the memory of Sasuke betraying him again, while Sakura's hand balled into a fist at the same memory.

"Was this person a former ally of yours?" Ukitake asked, noticing the body language Naruto and Sakura.

"Yes," Sakura said as she released her fist. "He was a former member of our village."

"I must commend you," Unohana said to Naruto, as several of the captains nodded in agreement. "Most individuals wouldn't sacrifice themselves to save everyone else."

"It's no big deal," Naruto said with a shrug. "I'd do it again to protect those precious to me."

"Once we arrived at the destination, it was determined that Naruto died from unknown means," Shikamaru said, as he declined to reveal the part about Kyuubi extraction. He didn't want to make the story more complicated. "Furthermore, our former ally unleashed a powerful weapon to fight us with. However, he was unable to control the weapon and it backfired on him. In his last act of rage, he attempted to use the weapon again. Instead, the weapon killed everyone in the vicinity of the lair."

"What happened to this former ally?" Kensei asked as he glanced at Shikamaru. "Since you died at the same place, he should be with you."

"When we realized our situation outside the hideout," Ino said with a shrug as the captains listened intently, "we lost track of him. From what he did to our village, I wouldn't be surprised if Yoru ... I mean Captain Shihouin or Kisuke sent the bastard to hell."

"Unfortunately, you were the only spirits Kisuke and I managed to find," Yoruichi said. "If there were any other pluses, most likely the hollow got him first." Naruto nodded firmly. Sasuke deserved as much.

"After we returned to our village for a final time," Shikamaru said, "We were attacked by the hollow. We attempted to fight it off, but couldn't do so. If Captain Shihouin and Kisuke didn't arrive, we would have died..." He scrunched his face in confusion before he said, "... again."

"After the fight," Sakura continued, "Captain Shihouin realized that our reiatsu was unusually high. Rather than leave us in our world to become hollows or let them devour us, Kisuke sent us to Soul Society. We arrived in the western section of Rukongai, but I'm not sure of the district's exact name."

"We managed to find employment on our first day, working at an inn in exchange for pay and shelter," Shikamaru said. "Earlier this morning, Captain Shihouin found us with her lieutenant and brought us to Soul Society."

"That is quite a story," Aigawa said as he adjusted his sunglasses. "I believe it, but that's not something you hear everyday."

"We also had a glance at your assessment tests at the academy," Yamamoto added as he reproduced an envelope. Sakura, Hinata, and Shikamaru remembered that Soifon received a similar envelope. They all realized she gave it to the Commander-General. "I must say that these are some of the most impressive results in academy history."

"Thank you for your praise Commander-General," Hinata said with a bow, in which everyone took her lead. "We only did our best," she added, although she was not certain if that was true in the case of Shikamaru.

"These results will allow you to take the advanced courses in the academy," Yamamoto said. "There, you can learn from some of our best officers."

"We understand," Shikamaru said, everyone behind him nodding in agreement.

"Unless anyone in the room has any more questions," Yamamoto said, "I shall dismiss everyone and the meeting—"

"I have a question," Shinji asked as he directed his focus towards the group. "What is your culture like in your world?"

"Actually," Naruto said as rubbed the back of his neck. "It's similar to what's here in Seireitei and Rukongai, give or take a few inventions. However, if you want to learn about the elemental countries, we'd be happy to tell you about them."

"That would be ingenious," Shinji said with a smile. "Feel free to stop by the fifth division, and we'll talk about everything."

"I also have a quick question," Sakura said. "We don't know where the dorms are in the Shinigami Academy. Soifon said that someone was arranged to show us the way."

"Ah, that's right," the captain called Kyoraku said. "My lieutenant will be here soon. She'll escort you to the—"

"Captain, I assume the meeting is over?" A woman with glasses said as she entered the room. As the shinobi glanced at her, they noted that her hakama stopped at above the knee, making it look like a skirt. "I'm ready to take the new candidates to their dorm."

"Lisa," Kyoraku said with a sigh while the captains looked at the scene with amusement. "You were listening in on a captain's meeting again, weren't you?"

"Not really," the woman said as the shinobi shook their head at the girl's antics. "I was waiting for the meeting to end."

"I think it's sufficient to say that we can adjourn the meeting," Unohana said in a soft voice. The female shinobi glanced at her. While the woman was soft spoken, the captain of the fourth division radiated confidence and authority.

"I agree Captain Unohana," Yamamoto said. He tapped his staff on the ground and added, "I adjourn this meeting."

"I'm Lieutenant Lisa Yadomaru," the female shinigami said to the group as she bowed to the group. "As you already know, I shall escort you back to the academy.

"Are there any places to eat around here?" Naruto said as he heard his stomach growl. "Are there any places that serve ramen?"

"There are many places around Seireitei," Lisa said with a smile as some of the captains left the room to return to their divisions. "If everyone is hungry, I'll take you to a ramen restaurant on the way."

Naruto grinned widely, while everyone else groaned. While they were hungry and only stopped to eat once on the way to Seireitei, none of his companions was in the mood to eat noodles.

x X x

Soifon returned to her quarters in the second division, relieved that her exhausting day came to a cessation. As she grabbed the main in her box beside the door, her mind shuffled through the various events in the day.

She shivered as she remembered that Naruto walked in on her changing back into one of her spare uniforms. Had he arrived seconds earlier, he would have seen her naked. Orders or not, she would've killed him if that happened. Fortunately, she managed some form of revenge by humbling him in a spar.

Of course, it helped that Naruto had no idea how to counter shunpo. She also fought with her sealed zanpakutou, while the former shinobi fought unarmed.

She was glad that mission was over with, as she believed that the group had to be the most annoying people she ever met. Then again, Naruto, whom she referred to in her mind as the blond gaki, was the main culprit of those thoughts. However, a close second were the lethargic Shikamaru who complained for most of the entire walk, and Sakura, who seemed to defend Naruto whenever she rebuked him.

She hoped that if any of them graduated from the academy, that Yoruichi wouldn't pick any of those three for the second division.

The lieutenant glanced through her mail, which consisted of three envelopes. As she sat at her desk, she read the first letter, which announced the first meeting of the Shinigami Women's Association. She circled the date of the meeting on her calendar, knowing this was the idea of the three current female captains in the Gotei Thirteen, including her own. As males double females in the shinigami ranks, the Gotei Thirteen agreed that this would encourage more women to become shinigami.

She opened the second letter, which had the symbol akin to the Lieutenant's badge in the Gotei Thirteen. Not to her surprise, this was a reminder of the monthly meeting that each of the lieutenants held. While the Captain meetings discussed the overall progress of the Gotei Thirteen as well as Seireitei, the Lieutenant meetings tend to focus on growth within the individual divisions.

The third piece of mail caused Soifon to raise her eyebrow, as it held the symbol of the Shinigami Academy. She opened the letter and read it:

_Dear Lt. Shaolin Fon, _

_As part of the Shinigami Academy Education Reform Act established two years ago, I am proud to announce that through a random selection process, you were chosen for a two-year commitment as an instructor for the incoming class. I ask that you to report to the Admissions office prior to the Academy Welcoming Ceremony to receive your class assignments._

_Furthermore, as one of the two high-ranking officers in the Gotei Thirteen selected, you will also have the privilege of educating this year's advanced class, which consist of fifteen of our most talented students from our selection process. _

_Please understand that in accordance to the Shinigami Academy Education Reform Act, failure or refusal to report to your assignment on the first day will result in the loss of your seated position within your division. With these implications in mind, if you are unable to complete this assignment for a valid reason, please submit a letter of resignation with your captain's signature to the Admissions' Office prior to your first day on assignment. _

_I hope your teaching experience at the Shinigami Academy will be a rewarding one for both yourself and your students. _

_Sincerely, _

Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryuusai

_S.A. President. _

After reading the letter, she bit her lip softly as she slumped in her chair. A sigh escaped from her lips. Whenever a letter referred to her by her given name instead of the name she adopted, it was usually bad news.

Prior to the Shinigami Academy Education Reform Law, shinigami volunteered to teach at the academy. However, with the growing number of students and the lack of volunteers, the Captains of the Gotei Thirteen instated the law. Randomly picked seated officers within each division taught at the academy, under threat of losing their spot, as captains believed they held enough experience and knowledge to teach effectively.

In addition, either a third seat or lieutenant taught the advanced class. The purpose behind it was to create as many powerful fighters as possible.

"Damn it!" she whispered through her teeth as she folded the letter and placed it on the desk, realizing that she most likely met seven of her fifteen new students already, three of whom grated on her.

At least she had some consolation in that another high-ranking officer must share the same misfortune.

x X x

After everyone ate at the nearby ramen stand, which fortunately had many other food options aside from Naruto's favorite meal, Lisa walked the group back to the Shinigami Academy, escorting them to the dorms.

Compared to Soifon, Lisa was a blessing to the group. She didn't rush everyone to return to the dorm, answering their questions and allowing them to purchase a few items in a nearby shop on her dime.

She also bought herself a magazine to read on the way back. To the surprise of everyone, it was an erotic magazine. More astonishing, however, was her openness about her perverted nature, saying that the body is a form of art meant for admiration. Naruto couldn't help but think that if Jiraiya or Kakashi were here, they would fall in love with the woman on that aspect alone.

As they reached the dorms, Lisa departed with a smile, offering them a chance to visit the eighth division anytime. Shikamaru thought about the captain and lieutenant from the eighth division, and noted they were more laid back than their counterparts from the second division, despite that Yoruichi herself was a casual individual through their interactions.

When they walked through the door, two students ran into the group by accident, causing Ino and Tenten to fall on the ground with them.

"Watch where you're going baldy!" Sakura yelled at one of the guys as Kiba, Shikamaru, and Naruto helped the girls off the ground, dropping the bags they carried in the process. "Why are you running near an entrance in the first place!"

"Who are you calling bald?" one of the men said after he leaped off the ground and clutched a training sword from his side. "Those are fighting words woman!"

"It's your fault in the first place," Naruto yelled as he stepped in front of Sakura. "You knocked my friends over when you ran out the door." His hand formed into a fist. "If you want a fight, I'll take both of you on anytime!"

"He's right Ikkaku," the other person said as he lifted himself off the ground. Initially they thought that the person was a woman, but they remembered that the male students wore blue. As he looked at his uniform, he realized it was dirty. As the man hung his head, he continued, "We ran into them in the first place. We should apologize—"

"But she called me bald Yumichika!" Ikkaku said with a growl as he pointed toward Sakura. Pulling out his wooden sword, he added, "Those are fighting words!"

"There's no need to get in a fight with the ugliest pink haired woman I've ever seen." Yumichika added as he restrained Ikkaku. Of course, he can only recall seeing two girls with pink hair, and one was a toddler that was with a man that beat Ikkaku to near death after a brawl.

"What did you call me?" Sakura said as she rolled up her sleeves and clenched both hands. Realizing what was about to happen, Naruto and Hinata restrained Sakura, the latter dropping the light bag she carried. "No one calls me ugly and walks away!"

Kiba, Shikamaru, Tenten and Ino were prepared to jump in at any moment. Certainly, the seven of them can handle two academy students.

"That's enough!" a woman shouted as she approached the door. It turned out to be Lisa. Everyone stopped bickering as all listened to the lieutenant. "All of you know that fighting is not allowed in the academy except on the training grounds!"

"No one threw a punch or used a weapon," Shikamaru said as he assessed the situation.

"Then go about your business," Lisa said as she reached into the bag that Hinata carried.

"But she called me bald," Ikkaku whined. "Everyone knows those are fighting—"

"I will repeat myself," Lisa said as she lowered her glasses and locked her gaze at everyone. "Go about your business."

In the opinion of all the shinobi, it was the most intimidating stare they saw from a woman. This short list included Sakura when she was angry, and Tsunade when she couldn't find her booze before signing paperwork.

It was not surprising to see Ikkaku stammer like an idiot before he bowed to the woman and walked out the building in a brisk pace

"Oh yes," Lisa said as she reached into one of the bags that Sakura carried. "I came back for a reason." As she showed the cover of the erotic manga, she said with a smile, "I forgot this."

She opened the magazine and started reading as she walked out the building, releasing a slight giggle.

The shinobi shook their heads in disbelief as they climbed the stairs to the fourth floor.

x X x

When the former shinobi reached the fourth floor, they noticed that the first door to the right was room 402. To the right of the door, there were three mailboxes, each with the name of the boys.

"This is our stop," Shikamaru said as he took the set of keys out his pocket. As he unlocked the door, he opened it, to see a large empty space.

"This apartment is huge!" Naruto said as he and Kiba stepped inside and glanced around the spacious area. The room held the necessary essentials such as chairs, shelves and tables. They could also see the kitchen, which has the basic essentials such as a refrigerator, cabinets for storage, and a stove. However, the refrigerator and stove seemed to be out of date in terms of technology compared to their world.

"That's an understatement," Sakura said in response to Naruto as she walked inside the apartment, the rest of the girls following. The area held more space than her place at home. This surprised everyone, as if Konoha housed a shinobi, it would not hold half the space the apartment held.

As Tenten and Hinata walked toward the enormous window in the family area, they noted that the Shinigami Academy gave their students first class accommodations, along with a monthly stipend for living expenses.

"I wonder what the bedrooms are like," Naruto said as he used the second key on the chain marked 402C. As he unlocked the door to his room, he became amazed. Instead of a roll-up futon, there was an actual bed. There was also a desk with a light, drawers for storage, and a closet.

As everyone watched Naruto open the closet door, he saw the five academy uniforms that easily fit his frame.

"I can get used to this," Naruto said with a yawn as he flopped onto the bed. "This is comfortable!"

"We should probably head to our rooms too," Hinata said as she watched Naruto lie in his bed. Her face blushed slightly as her thoughts drifted toward sleeping in the same bed as him.

"You're right," Tenten said as she released a yawn as she turned towards Ino. "I think it's time that we met our third roommate."

"Good luck with that," Kiba said as he walked the girls outside to the hall.

"Don't you want to check out our rooms too?" Ino said.

"Maybe later," Shikamaru said as he sat on one of the chairs in the family room. "You may have a roommate that doesn't want to be disturbed so late." With a yawn, he added, "Besides, I'm tired."

"Shikamaru," Ino said as she shook her head while she walked out the room, "you're always tired."

x X x

After the girls walked down the hall, the statement Shikamaru said resonated with the girls when they saw the inboxes of rooms 409 and 411. They opted to enter without making much noise. Not to their surprise, there was a third name on each box.

On the door of room 411, there was a note attached the door. Tenten took it off the door and read it:

_Tenten and Ino, _

_I waited for an hour to meet you at the apartment. If you get this note, I wanted to let you know that I went out to the city for a few drinks of sake, so don't wait up for me. _

_I hope we get to meet soon, assuming I'm not drunk or hung over. Maybe we can take a tour of the city together and go out for a round of sake tomorrow? _

_Your roommate, _

_Rangiku Matsumoto_

"That's just great," Ino said with a frown as she crumpled up the letter while Tenten opened the door to their apartment. "Our roommate is a lush."

"And Tsunade-sama was better?" Sakura responded. Whenever she or Ino went to work with the Fifth Hokage of Konoha, there were always slight traces of sake in her breath, with the exception of the hospital. She stopped drinking there after a patient confused her sake bottle for medicine.

"I see your point," Ino said, "but we didn't have to live with her or have her as a teammate." She also noted in their mind that her former teammates were equally abnormal. One was a pervert just as likely to drink down sake, while the other held an unhealthy obsession with immortality.

Meanwhile, Tenten shivered at that thought. While he is an exception to the rule, she remembered the instance when Lee was drunk inside a restaurant. He completely trashed the place. Since that day, she never touched alcohol, unsure what effect it would have on her.

"She was considerate enough to leave a note," Hinata added, much to the surprise of everyone in the room. "Most people wouldn't leave a note in the first place."

"You have a point Hinata," Tenten said as Ino went inside the apartment, placing her bags on the table. Turning her attention to Sakura as well, she added, "We'll see you tomorrow!"

"Have a good night," Sakura said as she read the third name on the inbox of room 409. As Tenten closed and locked the door behind her, she whispered, "Nanao Ise." With a shrug, she watched Hinata opened the door inside.

When they entered the apartment, they dropped their bags in surprise as they saw a child with glasses sitting on a chair in the family room. In her hand was a book.

"Excuse me," the little girl said as her legs swung from the chair, unable to touch the ground. "Are you two Sakura Haruno and Hinata Hyuuga?"

"Yes," Sakura said slowly as she and Hinata eased into seats across from the little girl. "Are you Nanao's sister or daughter?" It wouldn't surprise them if their roommate had family to visit.

"Nope," the girl said with mile-wide grin as she leaped off the chair and bowed, clutching the book near her chest. "I'm Nanao. Pleased to meet you."

"Huh?" the pink-haired woman said aloud, while Hinata kept a neutral expression toward Nanao, finding it hard to believe that a child could be an academy student populated by teenagers and adults.

Yet, she had to be a student. Her name was on the mailbox outside the room.

When both of them snapped out of their reverie, both of them bowed to the child and said, "Pleased to meet you too, Nanao. I'm Sakura, and this is Hinata."

"I wish we could talk more, but I need to study," Nanao said as she walked to her room door. "Please excuse me."

"Study?" Sakura said with a stammer, impressed with the girl's work ethic. "Now?"

"Yeah," Nanao said as she showed Sakura her book, entitled _Shinigami Battle Arts: Basic Hado Techniques and Secrets_. "I want to get a head start before classes begin."

Sakura smiled as she scurried in the bag she brought inside with her and pulled out a book, entitled _Shinigami Battle Arts: Basic Zanjutsu. _Hinata also took a book from her bag, except it had the title _Shinigami Battle Arts: Basic Hakuda Techniques. _

Sakura bought the book because the Zanjutsu practices in the book seemed similar to the Kenjutsu from her world. She noticed several students carrying swords, believing that sword techniques may become a possibility at the academy. Hinata, on the other hand, bought her book because Hakuda may have similar techniques to the Jyuuken style.

"You have books too!" Nanao said as she returned to the women. "May I read those when you're done?"

"Sure," Hinata said as she opened the book and began reading.

"Would you like to come with our friends tomorrow," Sakura said as she placed the book back inside her bag, already taking a liking to her pre-adolescent roommate. "We plan on taking a tour of Seireitei."

"That'd be great!" Nanao said as she nodded her head eagerly as she walked back to her room. "In that case, I should start studying so I can wake up early." As she opened the door to her room, she added, "Have a good night! Nice to meet you!"

"She's so adorable," Hinata said to Sakura while Nanao closed the door behind her. Shifting her focus to Sakura's green eyes, she added, "We should probably study for a little as well."

"Maybe not tonight," Sakura said as she released a yawn as she walked to her room and unlocked the door. "I need a bath, and some rest."

After she watched Sakura enter her room and closed the door behind her, Hinata released a yawn as she walked to a mirror and gazed at her reflection. While she didn't seem as worse for the wear as her rival, she walked to her room as she opted to prepare for a bath as well.

x X x

That's the end of this chapter.

This is by far, the largest chapter I wrote on . (Twenty-five pages, over 10,500 words.) More surprising, is that I produced such a lengthy chapter in six days. Of course, I also believe that length of a chapter has nothing to do with the quality of the chapter.

To be honest, I _wanted _to divide this chapter in two parts. However, because my previous update promised the appearance of other shinigami, I couldn't cut the chapter before the meeting with the captains.

That aside, I have one rant.

With few exceptions, I detest high school stories on this site with passionate enthusiasm. That intense revulsion increases exponentially when said high school stories are in the Naruto section. Those stories often involve unrealistic scenarios, and don't address problems that teenagers go through.

Furthermore, an original character or a self-insert usually appears in these "high school" stories. Mary-Sue/Gary-Stu type characters that most readers and writers everywhere abhor also appear in these stories, often in droves. It gets worse as canon characters become out of character to allow the character in the story.

Creating the outline for the Shinigami Academy arc, I made the decision early to follow a path that avoids the worst elements of "high school" type stories. The last thing I want is to push this story towards a path that I abhor.

The first thing on the agenda was to take elements of a college campus in a large city (e.g.: Columbia University in New York City). I mixed that with elements from a military academy (e.g.: Annapolis or West Point – the naval and army academies in the United States, respectively), and hints of first-class accommodations.

That is how the Shinigami Academy will feel like, more or less. I hope that it will give it the effect I want, without giving this the dreaded "high school" feel.

That's enough of my ranting.

To answer one question directly, for those who haven't read Bleach, these events take place a few years before the "Turn Back the Pendulum" series.

_Second Edit Annexation_: Yep, I'm aware that Rangiku is at best, a pre-teen in this arc. (That will make next chapter's scene interesting.) I also made the corrections that Wruth suggested in the power measurement scene. By my own confession, it's been years since I took physics.

In _Chapter 7: Remember my Name_, Naruto and company take a tour of Seireitei, while we hear from Kisuke for the first time since the third chapter. Did he _really _dismantle the dimensional gate?

And ... what is going in Hueco Mundo?

Enjoy the rest of your day or evening, and let me know your thoughts and questions via review or private message (especially if you reviewed the first edition of the chapter already.)


	7. Remember my Name

Author's note:

Yeah, I often express my opinions. Not surprisingly, I have another one to share.

I find the situation amusing when individuals attempt to intimidate novelists by rendering threats to discontinue reading if a story does not accommodate their content preferences.

As a mere writer on this site, I understand that while it's important to satisfy the majority of individuals that read my stories, to appease every supporter and detractor is an impossible achievement. Even with critical praise, William Shakespeare, Mark Twain and F. Scott Fitzgerald could not satisfy everyone in their time. In recent years, J. K. Rowling and Stephanie Meyer could not win over everyone with Harry Potter and Twilight (respectively), despite selling millions of books.

With that said, the irony is, such complaints come from both ends of the spectrum for _Second Existence: Dual Objectives_. I'll share two of them.

There are _demands_ for more female characters (I plan for five). In contrast, I also have _requests_ that I drop the multi-dating scenario altogether.

I have one reader who _complains_ the story is too slow. In comparison, I have a reader who _discussed _how the story is going too fast.

I'm willing to listen to opinions, and make adjustments _if they are technical corrections, or they enhance the direction of the story_. However, there is zero incentive to listen to whimsical individuals that say, "Write your story this way, or I'll stop reading."

In these scenarios, it is a more prudent business decision to recommend one reader to discontinue the story, than to infuriate an entire reader base with changes that cater to only one reader.

That's all for now. Enjoy the next chapter!

_Chapter 7: Remember my Name_

Walking around in a damp, underground labyrinth, Naruto sighed. He was familiar with the place, as he encountered it on many occasions he encountered the nine tailed fox.

He was in the depths of his own mind for the first time since his death, and the departure of the Kyuubi.

However, the atmosphere changed due to the disappearance of the demon kitsune. Instead of being the usual dark and dreary place that would keep most vigilant, light emanated from a glass ceiling. Naruto glanced up, and noticed it was a clear sky.

Glancing down at the ground, he also noticed that the water seemed clean. As he raised his head up, he noticed red and white ribbons adorning the walls.

For some reason, Naruto felt compelled to go to the cage where the Kyuubi was a prisoner. In his earlier days as a shinobi, he taunted the great demon, often demanding rent in the form of chakra when he needed it. As he matured as a person, they learned how to coexist and work together, although if the only legitimate reason was mutual survival.

Not to Naruto's surprise, the cage was empty. The kanji representing the seal was also missing.

"_So you finally arrived Naruto,_" a feminine voice echoed through the damp halls. Naruto recognized the voice from the academy registration tests. "_I have waited for you to return here._"

"Who are you?" Naruto said as he shifted into a defensive stance. While this was his mind, unfamiliar voices meant anything could happen.

"_Consider me a part of your soul_," the voice responded.

"What do you mean by that?" Naruto said as he stepped out of his defensive stance. "I don't understand. I never heard your voice before until hours ago."

"_You could not hear my voice before_," the voice said as Naruto folded his arms. "_That's quite normal when a person is alive, especially when using the techniques of the living soul. Now that you are a departed spirit, you can hear me._"

"Techniques of the living soul?" Naruto whispered under his breath. "What do you mean by—"

"_I speak of the techniques that require a balanced combination of body and spirit energy,_" the voice interrupted. "_I believe you called the techniques 'ninjutsu' and 'genjutsu', and the combination of body energy and reishi 'chakra.'_" Naruto nodded, realizing what he learned in the elemental countries.

"Where are you?" Naruto asked as he walked away from the empty cage. "There's more questions I want to ask."

"_You must search from within to find me_," the voice said.

"Can you at least tell me your name?" Naruto said as he continued down the halls of the labyrinth.

"_When you find me, I promise that I will tell you my name and purpose,_" the voice said. "_At that time, I will help fulfill your destiny, as long as you remember my name._"

"How do I find you," Naruto said as he glanced at the glass ceiling, noticing white clouds have formed in the sky. "How will you help me?"

"_That is something you must learn for yourself_," the voice said as the volume of her voice grew lower. "_While I acknowledge your strength and potential, you are not ready_. _For now, understand that I exist_."

"Wait," Naruto said as he ran down the hall. "I..."

x X x

"Get up Naruto!" Kiba yelled as he banged on his door. "We have to meet with everyone for the tour! Even Shikamaru is awake!"

The blonde opened his eyes and glanced around his room. He turned to the clock and realized it was thirty minutes before he was supposed to meet everyone.

"I'm awake!" Naruto yelled as he leaped out of his bed, surprised that he overslept. After he snatched one set of the academy uniform clothes, he rushed out of his room, past Kiba and Shikamaru, and into the bathroom to take a shower.

As he stripped himself of his nightclothes and turned on the water, Naruto thought about the dream he had last night. Grabbing a clean washcloth, he wondered if that was a dream at all, or if it happened at all.

He glanced at the water flowing into the drain. Shaking his head, he opted to clean himself.

He knew he couldn't figure it out right now, at least without enough knowledge of this realm.

x X x

"I thought you dismantled the gate by now," Tessai said as he walked in the room where Kisuke tinkered with the aforementioned invention. "Yamamoto will imprison you if he found out you disobeyed his orders."

"And ruin years of research?" Kisuke said as he lifted his head and glanced at his friend. "Not a chance. Besides, I'm following the commander's orders. I said I'll make the gate inoperable." He tossed Tessai what appeared to be a white gem before adding, "and I did that."

"What's this object?" Tessai said as he examined the object in his hand. "It feels warm."

"It's not a gem you purchase from a jeweler," Kisuke said as he stood up. "That is called _youzite_. It can be used as a rechargeable power source by placing it in the sun." Tessai raised his eyebrows as Kisuke continued, "Since the size is so small, it's also useful for portable devices, but the power it holds can energize the whole of Seireitei for a month if utilized properly."

"I assume the portal needs this to operate?" Tessai said as he gave the stone back to the eccentric third seat.

"Correct," Kisuke said as he grabbed a wrench from a table. "As you can see, the more power the gem has, the whiter it becomes. When there is no power left in the stone, it becomes translucent, like glass."

"That is an interesting stone," the man with the moustache said. "This could improve Seireitei in the long term."

"There's one problem with the stone," Kisuke said as he walked around the machine. "It's not a stable enough power source. While it can power large machines without a problem, attempting to power a large city may cause an explosion."

"I see," Tessai said with a shrug. "What do you plan to do with the portal?"

"Same thing I do with my other inventions and research," Kisuke said as he bent down and loosened a bolt with the wrench. "Move it to the training area under Soukyoku Hill until I need it again."

Tessai looked at the blond shinigami, amazed with his inventive genius. As he walked out of the room to find Yoruichi, he surmised that if Kisuke founded a research and development department within Seireitei, he wouldn't be surprised at all.

x X x

Naruto, Kiba and Shikamaru waited downstairs at the dorm lobby, sporting their academy uniforms.

"I told you we had a few more minutes," Shikamaru said as he Naruto and Kiba walked down the stairs to the lobby, realizing they were the first to meet in the group. "I could've got a few more minutes of cloud watching."

"Stop whining Shikamaru," Naruto said as he turned toward the lazy bum. "This will be fun! We'll get to see the city, find a few good places to relax—"

"And the best spots out the local women!" Kiba added with a grin. If Akamaru was with him, he would bark in agreement.

"You wouldn't do that in front of a lady," a woman yelled from the stairs. The young men glanced up as they recognized the owner of the voice as Sakura. With her were Hinata and a young girl with glasses. All three dressed in the academy uniform.

"Hey Sakura! Hey Hinata!" Naruto shouted as the females approached them. When he noticed the young girl, he added, "Who's the kid?"

"I'm Nanao," the child said as she gave an abbreviated bow toward the group of boys with her hands clasped in front of her. "I'm Sakura and Hinata's roommate!"

"Pleased to meet you," Naruto said while the boys returned the gesture. They couldn't help but be surprised that children also attend the academy. Then again, before their time, Konoha allowed children as young as four years old to become genin. "I'm—"

"You must be Naruto," the young girl interrupted as she walked toward the blond. "Sakura and Hinata told me about you. They didn't tell me you were so handsome!"

"Yep! That's me!" Naruto added with a smile as he puffed his chest. Nanao returned the smile as he pointed to his left, "This guy over here is Shikamaru." He pointed to his right. "That's Kiba."

Sakura and Hinata exchanged a glance with each other for a moment before they returned their glance to the little girl. Meanwhile, Kiba scoffed at the blond, acknowledging that his inflated ego was due to compliments by a child.

"Sakura also told me about them," Nanao said as she glanced at the two men. After she waved hello to Kiba and he returned the gesture, she adjusted her glasses as her focus shifted on Shikamaru. "He doesn't look like a genius."

"Great," Shikamaru said with a yawn as Hinata and Kiba raised their eyebrows at the blunt assessment of the child. "Another troublesome girl. Can't avoid them in life. Can't avoid them in death."

"It doesn't look like it, but Shikamaru is the smartest among us," Sakura said to Nanao as she held her finger. Nanao glanced at Shikamaru again, opting to find out his intelligence for herself in the near future.

"Ready to go?" another feminine voice yelled from the stairs. Everyone glanced up as the group recognized the owner of the voice as Ino. Behind her were Tenten, and a young female teenager with strawberry blonde hair. Like everyone else, the girls dressed in the academy attire. "Sorry it took us so long."

"It's alright," Sakura said as the other three females joined the group. "You're on time anyway."

"This is Rangiku," Tenten said as she pointed toward the unknown blonde. "She's our roommate."

Sakura and Hinata gazed at the girl, knowing the girl left the note on the door. Both surmised a conclusion that no one in their right mind would serve a girl this young any alcohol. Then again, maybe the rules were similar for shinigami as they were for Konoha. Konoha bars and restaurants served all shinobi, as the law signified that all shinobi were legal adults, regardless of age.

"I'm Naruto," the male blond said as he introduced himself to Rangiku. "That's Shikamaru and Kiba behind me. The other ladies are Sakura, Hinata, and Nanao."

"Pleased to meet everyone!" Rangiku said as she smiled toward everyone. She turned toward Ino and Tenten and added, "No fair! You didn't tell me the guys looked good." Shifting her academy robe, she added as Kiba turned a slight shade of red, "Had I known, I would've dressed better for the occasion!"

"You look fine the way you are now," Naruto replied, which caused Rangiku to blush slightly. Sakura snapped her head toward the blond as he added, "In a few years, you're going to wow everyone." Kiba and Shikamaru merely nodded their heads, while Sakura clenched her fist.

Meanwhile, Hinata glanced at Rangiku, then at her own body, noting that they were similar despite the age difference. The indigo-haired woman noted that if the young woman kept developing, her body type would be similar to Tsunade.

"I don't know," Rangiku said as she realized the increased tension. "Right now, I can't compare to two ladies beside you." She stepped toward Hinata and glanced at her. "Hinata has a body most women would kill for, while Sakura has the cutest face." She turned to Sakura and added, "I'd probably bet a ton of men would get lost in those eyes."

Sakura and Hinata smiled back at Rangiku, while Naruto nodded in agreement. The first time he met Sakura as a young girl, he was lost in those same eyes.

"We should leave now," Tenten said as she glanced at the clock on the wall. "If all the new students are planning to tour, we should get to the academy soon before they're all booked."

Everyone agreed as the group walked outside, toward the shinigami academy.

x X x

Waking up in the desert night, a plant like creature walked around, hoping to find its latest prey to add to the collection of souls it already devoured. From what it understood, it could evolve to a gillian-class hollow if it devoured enough souls. Perhaps it could evolve further into an adjucha or even into one of the rare vasto lordes, who seemed to rule Hueco Mundo with intimidation.

The creature was miffed that it lost a grand opportunity achieving that goal in the shinobi world several days ago. That damn shinigami captain and her partner cost him seven free souls that held reiatsu comparable to, as many hollows learned to call them, the sword-wielding bastards.

He attempted to return to the world after his injuries healed. However, it saw several large beasts destroying many of his kind without much effort. While the shinobi world remained rich with souls containing excessive amounts of reiatsu, making a return was an implausible option, unless a hollow was bold or stupid enough to enter the world as is.

Their reward for such brash reactions was a likely encounter with one of the legendary nine great beasts that roamed the lands again – and meet a consequent and unpleasant demise.

With that option unavailable, the hollow opted to improvise on his plan. It could still accomplish this task in Hueco Mundo by eating fellow hollows. It just had to fight and eat weak hollows until it gathered enough souls and keep them under control.

As the hollow traveled across the night desert to hunt for another hollow to cannibalize, it collapsed on the ground, pain flowing to its mind.

"_I'm taking control now_," one of the souls in its mind stated with a cold demeanor. "_You're too weak to control me_."

Wondering what was happening to it, the plant hollow continued dragging itself across the desert as the pain increased.

Soon, the plant hollow was ignited on fire, flames bursting out from inside its body.

"What the hell is going on?" the hollow yelled, followed by intense screams of pain.

"_I told you_," the soul replied as the hollow continued to burn. "_You're too inept, so I'm taking charge_."

"Who the hell are you?" the plant said

"_That's not important_," the soul said, "_because you will die here anyway_."

A light escaped from the hollow as it continued to burn in the desert night. In the distance, the light transformed itself into a hollow with an avian design. The mask resembled the features of a hawk. The most notable feature on this hollow, were three tomoe on the crown of the mask.

The new hollow spread his large black wings and took flight. He watched from the air as the fire attracted the attention of other nearby hollows. As they fought over who devoured the remains, it came to no surprise that they were disappointed.

Of course, the new flying hollow took all the souls that were in the plant hollow with him as he escaped.

"Hn," the new hollow grunted as he considered the next step in his plan. He knew he needed to become stronger to escape this place and return to the shinobi world.

There, he can enact his revenge on the great beasts for their insolence, and eradicate the village that ordered the mass murder of his family.

x X x

"I'm sorry, but all Seireitei tours are booked," a shinigami behind a kiosk said at the information center while he flipped through several pages in the book. "The next one we have available is two weeks from today—"

"Two weeks!" Naruto and Sakura yelled simultaneously to the shinigami while the remaining members of the group either glanced around or showed signs of frustration.

"In two weeks, we can learn how to get around Seireitei by ourselves!" Naruto added.

"Looks like we won't be able to go on this tour," Shikamaru said. "Might as well go find a good spot and watch the clouds float—"

"We can still go on a tour!" Nanao interrupted. "We can just buy a map and go on our own. We can't get lost if we know where we're going."

"That's a great idea," Ino said as she dropped to one knee to look at the young girl as Shikamaru sighed. "You're pretty smart Nanao." The comment caused Nanao to smile with radiance as she adjusted her glasses.

"Do you have maps of Seireitei?" Sakura asked the shinigami.

"They're free for academy students," the shinigami said as he nodded while opening a drawer to retrieve two maps. After he gave one to Naruto and Sakura he continued, "Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"Nope," Naruto said as he walked away from the kiosk. "Thank you!"

"So where should we head first?" Sakura said as she opened the map. Not to her surprise, she noticed how the thirteen divisions divided the city. The first division was in the center of Seireitei, along with the Shinigami Academy, the Kido Corps, and a place called the Central Forty-six. In her mind, Sakura wondered what they entailed, as they were important enough to be in the center of Seireitei.

"The city is a perfect circle," Hinata said as she glanced at the map. "We can probably visit each area and return before the day is over." The former kunoichi was correct, as the remaining twelve divisions circled around Seireitei similar to that of the hours on a watch.

The second division was located on the western part of the city, near the gate they entered. The divisions continued in order in a clockwise manner, with the fifth division being at the northern part of Seireitei, the eighth division being at the eastern part, and the eleventh division being in the southern area. They also noted that the headquarters of each division was located closer to the first division, while the training areas and homes were located toward the outskirts. This theme would repeat for all of the divisions.

"The back of the map even has tidbits and facts on each division," Naruto said as he opened his map and reversed it.

"Since we're in the first division already, let's go to the second division," Rangiku said. While many people nodded, Naruto cringed at the thought. While it would've been cool to see Yoruichi again, he didn't want to meet that woman again anytime soon.

Even if she only wore a towel like the first instance he saw her.

x X x

Fortunately for him, as they traveled through the second division, they didn't see Soifon. However, they saw several hills, a cliff, and quite a few forests. Inside the forest, they noticed a large mansion standing out, believing it was the home of a noble family. The former shinobi thought that the home belonged to Yoruichi's family.

They also noticed that the shinigami who trained in this division wore assassin masks. When the group read that this was the Special Forces squad, Naruto, compared it to ANBU back in Konoha.

They walked to the third division, but didn't notice anything memorable, aside from the unique designs of the streets, as they consisted of several curves with trees aligned on them. .

Reaching the fourth division, they noted that it was an enormous medical center, by far larger than the hospital in Konoha. Reading the back of the map, they added that the phrase "Sending you to the fourth division," often meant going there to either get treatment for an illness or, more likely, an injury.

The fifth division held an enormous library. As Sakura and Nanao took special note of the location of the library, they saw several people practicing Kido. Among the practice group was a silver-haired shinigami that Rangiku recognized. As she waved hello to him, he returned the gesture with a wide smile.

Naruto shook his head, as the smile from the shinigami reminded him somewhat of the Kyuubi whenever the beast taunted him.

They soon approached the sixth division, which had cherry blossoms and a large mansion. They figured that this was the home of another noble family in Seireitei. On the outside of the gate, they saw Yoruichi talking to a young boy that appeared to be around Rangiku's age. The former shinobi waved hello to the captain. She returned the gesture and vanished, reappearing behind the boy to give him the scare of his life.

The seventh division, while having enormous and spacious training grounds, didn't have anything that allowed it to stand out from the other divisions. The eighth division, on the other hand, held plenty of eateries, lounges, and bars, more so than the area circling the first division.

The ninth division seemed to be the media center of Seireitei, as they saw several shinigami delivering newspapers to various buildings. As they continued to the tenth division, it seemed the main theme of the division was another training ground.

Two female shinigami passed by the group, and commented on how the male academy students keep looking better with each year. While Naruto smiled and grinned at the women, Sakura grabbed his hand and dragged him away, which everyone in the group noticed.

The eleventh division, like the second division, had plenty of people fighting. However, the participants were unmasked shinigami. However, they didn't linger long around the division, as they felt an uneasy presence of reiatsu. Perhaps it radiated from the captain of the division, as this reiatsu surpassed that of Naruto.

It also didn't help that some of the division members yelled obscenities, stating that they didn't want academy students around here. Naruto wanted say he would kick all their asses around Seireitei, but remembered how overmatched he was the last time he faced a shinigami.

The twelfth division held another training ground with several buildings connected to each other, while several areas held what appeared to be power conductors. One shinigami held his head down as he walked with a broken sword as he entered a building. Another one walked out of the building with a cheerful expression as he cradled his sword.

From that, and reading the back of the map, they learned this division was the place where most zanpakutou repairs occurred. While a zanpakutou could repair itself with time, this division speeded up the process so a shinigami could return to active duty faster. Rangiku added that a zanpakutou was a sword that the shinigami carried and was a part of their soul.

Naruto raised his eyebrow at that statement, understanding that maybe the voice that spoke to him was his zanpakutou.

They arrived in the thirteenth division, which had a serene feel thanks to the various ponds and bridges that occupied the area. However, the biggest aspect was an enormous gate that stood beyond the walls of Seireitei. They saw one shinigami enter as he clutched the hilt of the sword. The shinobi surmised that this was how Yoruichi and Kisuke entered their world.

Several of the shinigami in the area were friendly enough to wave hello to them, including a man with black spiky hair. Hinata noted in her mind, that she wouldn't mind being placed in this division while she and everyone else waved hello back to the young man.

As they returned to the first division, much to their surprise, it was only early in the afternoon. While Shikamaru opted to rest on the grass and watch the clouds pass, everyone agreed to meet at the boys' apartment for dinner later.

x X x

"You guys have interesting friends," Rangiku said before she took a sip from her cup while watching Ino and Tenten gather cooking supplies. "Did you all come to the academy together?"

"Everyone except for Nanao," Tenten said as she turned on the faucet and placed a pot underneath the running water. "We were all together since we arrived in Rukongai."

"Rukongai?" Rangiku said as she placed her drink on the table. "You arrived in the same place that you died?"

"We came from the same village," Ino said as she used a knife to chop various vegetables, omitting the fact they were shinobi. "We were on a rescue mission for the village, but died before we could complete it."

"It's amazing you remembered how you died," Rangiku said as she took another sip from her cup. "I don't remember how I died, or what my life was like while I was living. All I manage to remember these days is my name. Some people don't even manage that."

"Well," Tenten said as she turned off the water and brought the pot to the stove. "We only arrived in Rukongai three days ago." Ino nodded in agreement. She remembered overhearing various conversations in Rukongai about how people forget their memories of their life the longer they stay here. She made it a mental note to write everything down.

"Only three days ago?" Rangiku said as she nearly dropped her glass onto the floor. "I never would've guessed that." As Ino moved the diced vegetables to the side, she turned her attention to her fellow blonde as she continued speaking. "I mean, your reiatsu is high for a soul. I would've thought you stayed in Rukongai for at least a few decades."

"I'm not sure how that happened, let alone how to explain it," Tenten said to Rangiku as she glanced around in the icebox. Although the general idea that formed in her mind linked chakra output to reiatsu, she knew she couldn't explain it quite yet.

"So tell me about your friend we saw in the fifth division," Ino said as she leaned over the counter. "He seemed like a happy guy."

"Oh, that's just Gin," Rangiku said with a smile. "We knew each other since we were kids, and he convinced me to join the academy."

"Shouldn't he be an academy student too?" Tenten said as she carried a bag to the counter. Ino noticed this and moved toward the table that Rangiku sat at. "You two look around the same age."

"He enrolled in the academy last year," Rangiku said as she finished her drink. "The instructors were so impressed with him, they let him graduate with only one year of training." Tenten and Ino shrugged, remembering that they graduated from the shinobi academy at that age.

As Tenten opened the bag and pinched her nose at the smell of fish, they only hoped that the Shinigami Academy wouldn't produce more "geniuses" like Sasuke Uchiha, or his older brother Itachi. Although they eventually learned of the problems within that clan, it didn't excuse their actions.

"I have one more question before I head out to get drinks," Rangiku said as she eased off her chair. "Are Naruto and Sakura dating by any chance?"

"Not that I know of," Ino replied as she glanced at the window, "but they do care for each other, and spend a lot of time with each other. Hinata also has feelings for Naruto, but he has no idea."

"Everyone in the village knew about her crush except for Naruto," Tenten added as she rolled her eyes.

"She and Naruto would make a sweet couple," Rangiku said as she grabbed her keys. "I'm surprised no one has tried to bring them together on a date."

"We've tried," Tenten added as she closed her eyes. "It never works. Something always goes wrong."

She remembered when Kiba, Shino, and Shikamaru attempted to bring Hinata and Naruto together on a blind date. Unfortunately, an hour before the date, Naruto received a mission from Tsunade that required him to leave the village.

She also remembered when she helped Neji and Lee prepared diagrams and to make it obvious for Naruto. However, Konohamaru and his friends running to a D-rank mission spilled paint on them, ruining all the diagrams.

"Let me handle it," Rangiku said with a wink as she opened the door. "I'll have them together in no time!"

"What about Sakura?" Ino said, putting a hand on her waist. "I'm sure that she likes Naruto too. Frustration aside, the other reason why we stopped trying to get Naruto and Hinata together was Sakura. We didn't want to choose between friends."

"Especially after what you said, I think they're wonderful friends," Rangiku said as she closed the door behind her slightly. "I'm not sure since I met her today, but I believe Sakura is the jealous type."

"What makes you think that?" Ino said as she glanced at the young blonde, surprised that she gave an accurate assessment.

"I saw her reaction to the women from the tenth division," Rangiku said with a shrug. "She grabbed his hand and pulled him away. While I don't think Naruto is the type of guy to be unfaithful, Sakura probably won't be able to handle the attention that women may give him."

Ino and Tenten nodded in agreement, while Rangiku left the room. They observed the same things she saw. While Hinata felt uncomfortable, Sakura acted on it.

"Is it just me," Ino said to Tenten, "Or does she remind you of a teenage version of Tsunade-sama?"

"She does," Tenten said with sigh, realizing that few held a better assessments situations than the fifth Hokage of Konoha, whether the situation involved the village, or the personal troubles of one of her shinobi.

x X x

Naruto continued to clean the apartment when he heard someone knock on the door. When he answered the door, it was Sakura, much to his surprise.

"Hey Sakura," Naruto said as he opened the door wider to let her in. "You're here early. Something wrong?"

"Do you mind if we talk for a moment," Sakura said as Naruto closed the door behind him.

"Sure," Naruto said with a smile. "What's on your mind?"

"I think it's time that everyone learned about us," Sakura said as she sat on a chair.

"Why," Naruto asked as he sat next to Sakura, who frowned at his answer. "I thought you would wait until everything gets settled here first. That's the only reason why I didn't tell anyone yet."

"You're right," Sakura said as she smoothed the wrinkles on her red hakama. "But lately, I've been thinking, and I don't want to keep this a secret from our friends." She indeed did a lot of thinking. In addition to telling her friends of their relationship status, she wanted to keep unwanted women at bay before one of them takes Naruto away.

The compliments Sakura heard from the women earlier in the day echoed in her mind. It did not help matters when one of her roommates held a crush on Naruto, while the other roommate, although just a mere child, acknowledged that he was handsome.

"If that's what you want," Naruto said as he held her hand and smiled, "then we'll tell everyone after everyone eats dinner tonight."

Sakura nodded her head in agreement. Naruto was about to speak again, but Sakura stopped him from talking by putting her finger on his lips. She traced her finger on his lower lip before they leaned together and kissed each other.

"I'm back!" Kiba said as he entered through the door carrying two trays of food, with Hinata carrying a pot and Nanao carrying a small tray on her head. This caused the couple to break their kiss.

"Umm..." Naruto said as a slight blush formed on both their faces while everyone looked at the two with raised eyebrows. "Hi everyone."

Hinata, seeing this scene before, merely sighed and placed the pot on the counter while Kiba shook his head.

"Wow! Naruto and Sakura were kissing!" Nanao yelled with a smile as Kiba took the tray away from her. She ran toward the two and tugged on Sakura's hakama. "Will you two get married and make babies?"

The innocent actions of a child caused Naruto and Sakura to widen their eyes in surprise and caused Kiba to release a loud chuckle.

Hinata, on the other hand, coughed as she felt like she was choking on stagnant air for a few moments.

This didn't help matters, as Ino, Tenten, Rangiku, and Shikamaru entered the apartment with the rest of the food as Nanao made her statement. While Tenten helped Hinata catch her breath, Shikamaru merely shook his head and guided Nanao away from the couple so she could help prepare the area for everyone to sit down and eat.

"Well," Rangiku whispered to Ino after a sigh. "There goes my plan to bring them together, and I didn't form one yet."

Ino gave a slight nod as the two brought the food and drinks inside the kitchen.

x X x

That marks the end of this chapter. This was a fun chapter to write.

For those who can't wait to learn who _officially_ gets a shot at Naruto, I present a riddle. (If I told you how they get the opportunity, aside from the one you've read, that would ruin the story.)

The first three women should be apparent by this point to most readers, but I'll make clues anyway. Of course, if you're an enormous fan of both series, you can figure out all the answers in less than a minute.

_The first "mystery" woman ... She stands out in a crowd, as only one individual in Seireitei shares her hair color. Most readers would agree that she's appropriate for the same division as one of the Kotetsu sisters, due to her previous abilities as a shinobi. _

_The second "mystery" woman ... While reserved as an individual, she will not hesitate to battle if in the presence of one person. She's the topic of constant debate on this site, as some readers prefer her over the first "mystery" woman, and vice versa. (Much to my own annoyance as I detest pairing wars.)_

_The third "mystery" woman ... She is one of the fastest shinigami, mostly due to her lithe build and height. Much to the chagrin of most in Seireitei, her personality leaves more to be desired. They won't say that aloud or to her face – she may strike them down. _

_The fourth mystery woman ... This woman has a hobby of reading books, which she picked up from her captain. When finding time to unwind, she often discusses the books she read with a fellow Gotei thirteen lieutenant at a library. _

_The fifth mystery woman ... This woman has made Ichigo wince on multiple occasions. She is also one of the few people to step inside Ichigo's room. However, his family certainly wouldn't make a big deal about it. _

If you attempt the puzzle in a signed review or a PM, the answers will come via reply. Otherwise, you'll have to wait until the next chapter. Correct readers will have their names listed prior to the next chapter.

Someone will ask where did I come up with the idea of youzite, so I'll answer now. The kanji for "you" means "sun." From that, I created youzite, which is a sun stone that stores vast amounts of solar energy.

Also, I'll beat someone to the punch with these answers to potential questions.

1) I know Gin graduated from the academy by the start of Turn Back the Pendulum. To make everything fit this story, he already graduated by this point, with Rangiku opting to follow his advice and become a shinigami.

2) Yes, that was Kaien Shiba in the Thirteenth division. You'll read more on him in this story soon.

3) Yes, that was Byakuya Kuchiki in the Sixth division. Like Kaien, you will read more on him soon.

In _Chapter 8: Academy Blues_, ... the welcoming ceremony ensues and the first day of classes begin for the group, all while the surprise of Naruto and Sakura's relationship continues to resonate. The good news is that our future shinigami will meet new individuals. The bad news is our future shinigami will learn who one of their instructors will be.

Okay, this is the end of the line, and you know the usual drill. Leave the thoughts in a review, and enjoy the rest of your day (or evening.)


	8. AN: Story Giveaway

While I bear good news for myself, this may be a detriment for loyal readers. To them, I apologize in advance.

I received a reply from a publisher after sending a query letter, summary, and the first three chapters of an original writing project called _Spirit Fusion_. (Short summary: Various humans – including protagonists and antagonists – fuse with spirits to gain various powers, albeit with various conditions.)

They liked it enough that they wish to see the finished product. I have six months to complete the project _and_ edit it. (Although I may hire a professional editor for this task.)

If all goes great, it will become a book on the bookshelves of various bookstores. Maybe I will see my project in the book section someday, gaining the attention of Twilight and Harry Potter. It is not likely, but I can dream about it.

x X x

Unfortunately, this means I will not have time to update _Second Existence: Dual Objectives_, _War of the Stones_, and _The Legend Within: Rise of a Champion_. However, I have a contingency plan.

I seek three co-authors (one for each story) to transfer the stories. This way, they can continue to update on a regular basis. In the case of _The Legend Within: Rise of a Champion_, the story can be updated again.

There are four requirements for each perspective co-writer.

**First**, spelling and grammar ability is obligatory. I am not immune to fundamental typing mistakes (especially if I neglect to double-check a chapter), but one does not flinch while reading my work due to substandard spelling or grammar. I am not asking the writer to have the vocabulary of a professor or lawyer, but I expect any prospective author to maintain the current standard.

**Second**, writing is _more_ than just technical spelling, vocabulary and grammar. It is the ability to convey those words into action, scenery, body language, and feelings. It is about the ability to balance dialogue and narration. Most importantly, it is about the ability to entertain the reader. These matter, as it determines if a story is worth reading. If one can't convey these concepts, one is not likely to succeed.

**Third**, while I shall give any perspective author the plans to the story they choose, I rather not restrict the author of his or her creativity, especially if his or her direction is better than. I want the author to sound like himself or herself.

**Fourth**, base material knowledge is recommended. While I intend to submit my notes, the author must know what I'm talking about. Each story has unique requirements.

_Second Existence: Dual Objectives_  
The author must have knowledge on both Naruto and Bleach, as it is a crossover with some unexpected twists.

Understanding how characters from both manga may interact with one another after various events in Bleach is important. (e.g.: Aizen before defecting would likely be friends with everyone that isn't aware of his scheme, including the shinobi. Afterward, everyone will think less of him.)

I expect the author to have the ability to write sensual (not pornographic) intimate moments between characters. That means having the ability to write a sex scene _with meaning to the plot. _These scenes cannot be sex just because you can write it and you're good at it. This is what keeps the story at the M rating, and not the restricted MA rating.

_The Legend Within: Rise of a Champion_  
Only knowledge on Naruto is necessary in terms of source material.

One must also have a basic understanding of both friendship building, maintenance, and balance. This is the main focus of the story, as events that circle around Naruto and Hinata allows their friendship to build, perhaps into a possible relationship.

Understanding international politics will help make the story flourish – at least until the manga provides more details on various countries.

_War of the Stones _  
While the focus is on The Sacred Stones, this story requires knowledge on the entire Fire Emblem series, including the Japanese-exclusive games. (One purpose of the story was to help introduce fans to some of the more interesting characters from the Japan-only games.)

As it takes a more realistic approach to war, one must have a basic idea on tactics of war, including the not-so-nice ones, and the ability to manage large groups. (Ephraim and Eirika not only have to survive, they also have to lead – something the games do not reveal as much.)

Due to the realistic approach, certain aspects from the games will not work. (e.g.: a thrown javelin or axe will not return to the owner _instantly_.)

x X x

If you are interested in taking over one of the aforementioned stories, send a _private message _with a brief writing sample. The stories will go to the best writers that request them. In addition, while my writing is focused on the project, I can still edit and beta-read without too much trouble if the writer wishes to do so.

I thank you for your time. If all goes to plan, I can announce the new authors within a week.

x X x

On a final note, for those reading _Second Existence: Dual Objectives_, the women in order from the quiz were:

Sakura Haruno

Hinata Hyuuga

Soifon

Momo Hinamori

Tatsuki Arisawa


End file.
